


Find your way by moonlight

by sssssssim



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Plot Twists, Teacher Stiles, Writer Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-25
Updated: 2013-08-20
Packaged: 2017-12-21 07:41:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/897679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sssssssim/pseuds/sssssssim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There’s this post on tumblr: <i>Teen Wolf: the only series where it being all a dream would be the best alternative to whatever the writers are thinking.</i></p><p>Stiles wakes up one morning from one hell of a nightmare. Werewolves, what the hell? Werewolves aren’t real. His friends are not werewolves. He doesn’t know anybody called Derek Hale.<br/>But the dream was so real, so detailed, so long. Stiles can’t let it go. Years after dreaming it, he can’t let it go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title from an Oscar Wilde quote: 'A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.'

When Stiles wakes up, he falls out of bed and starts screaming. He’s panicking and crying and he can’t think for long enough to find a reason to stop yelling. All he sees are claws and fangs and blood, so much blood. He doesn’t stop screaming when his dad bursts into his room, gun drawn. He doesn’t stop screaming until he is in the Sheriff’s arms, smelling his cologne and wrinkling his uniform between his fingers.

‘What happened, kid?’

‘Sorry, dad. Just a bad dream. I’m fine now.`

‘It must have been pretty damn bad for you to be screaming like that.’, the Sheriff looked concerned.

‘It wasn’t that bad, it was just… very real. Sorry.’

‘Come on, get yourself cleaned up. We can have breakfast before I go to the station.’

Stiles got up the floor and wiped his face, brows frowning. ‘But, you’ll be there, right?’

‘Of course I will, Stiles.  I wouldn’t miss your graduation for the world.’

His father smiled and ruffled his hair, like he did when he was younger. After the Sheriff left the room, Stiles sat on his desk chair and took a few deep breaths. His therapist told him the best way to get over a nightmare was to say it out loud, as detailed as possible. It worked for him most of the time, so that’s what he did.

‘It was just a dream, Stiles.’, his voice was barely a whisper. ‘Just a dream. There are no werewolves, no hunters, no kanimas, no Alpha packs. Scott’s not a werewolf, Jackson’s not a werewolf or a kanima, Lydia’s not immune, Allison’s not a hunter. Erica, Boyd and Isaac were never werewolves. You didn’t set Peter on fire, you didn’t kill Kali, you didn’t see Deucalion cut Isaac in half.’ He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. ‘There is no Derek Hale. There are no werewolves. It was just a dream. A highly detailed psychotic dream.’

⃝

That day, Stiles graduated high school. He was the salutatorian, while Lydia was the valedictorian, of course. His father hugged him way too tight and told him that he was proud, and that his mother would have been proud too. Mrs. McCall ruffled his hair and told him that her boys are all grown up. As an answer, Scott gave Stiles a piggyback ride.

After the ceremony, they went out for pizza. Stiles, Scott and Allison, Lydia and Jackson, Danny, Isaac. They had a rough start, but after years of high school drama, in the end, they ended up being amazing friends. They were different, but they complemented each other. Some of them were couples, some were not, but they were all friends. Someone was there when you needed it; you were alone if you needed to. They stopped judging each other a long time ago and through the years, they all became closer and closer. Of course, there were factions in their group. Like how Scott and Allison were together, or Lydia and Jackson. Like how Scott will always be Stiles’ best of best friends, the only one who knows everything, or how Allison couldn’t keep a secret from Lydia. Like how Danny was the only one who could fully control Jackson or how Isaac felt the safest with Scott. Yes, they all were a bit fucked up, one way or another, but they did come together and made the best of everything. Now, they finally finished high school, and Stiles was happy.

That night, they went to a local club the high school rented for the annual ‘goodbye party’. All the seniors were there, and even some teachers. Stiles got a hug from every member of the lacrosse team, including the Coach. Harris gave him a beer and told him he never wants to see him again. Understandable, really, considering how many hours of detention he spent with the jerk. The beer was a surprise.

He danced with Lydia, he danced with Allison, he danced with Scott, he danced with Scott and Allison, he danced with Lydia and Danny, he danced with Jackson and Danny and Isaac, he danced with his favorite English teacher and with the councilor. He saw Erica standing on the bar, feet tangling in the air while she sipped on an orange juice. He couldn’t help how his heart skipped a beat. He knew her story, about the epilepsy, about Boyd, her steady boyfriend who drowned two summers ago. They weren't friends, not really. Acquaintances that had to do a couple of high school project together, who saw each other at parties and said ‘hello’ when they met at the grocery store. But the dream made Stiles march up to her, pick her up by the hips and dance until she started complaining about wearing heels.

Today, Stiles graduated from high school. He was happy. They’ll all leave their separate ways soon, but tonight they were still together, without stressful ideas about collage, courses, plain tickets, roommates and so on an so forth. Stiles was with his high school friends, and he was happy.

But he couldn’t forget the dream. It was too vivid, too detailed, too long.

The next day, Stiles started writing it down. Even if nothing came out of it, he was going to study literature and creative writing, so it couldn’t hurt.

By the time he left for collage, he had a rough outline of his dream. It was 50 pages long.

After the first year of college, it was 400 pages long.

When he graduated from college, it was 1200 pages long.

By the time he finished all his studies and internships, and moved back to Beacon Hills to teach English at his old high school, Stiles had a series of four completed sci-fi novels. He was the only one who knew of their existence.

⃝

Stiles was happy to be back in Beacon Hills. He enjoyed the time he was away, he enjoyed college and all the new people and places, but it felt good to be home. He missed his dad, and even though he got his own apartment, it was good seeing him more often and just knowing they’re in the same town.

All his high school friends made their way back home too. Scott and Allison were planning their wedding; Isaac was a deputy and worked close to Stiles’ father. Lydia, Jackson and Danny opened a law firm together. It was weird, Stiles thought, that they’d all settled in a not-so-small town. But, when he thought about it, it made complete sense. They were all troubled souls that went through a lot of bad things from a young age, that’s what bought them together all those years ago. They were damaged and they needed other people who understood them. They needed family and that was all in Beacon Hills.

When he applied for the job, Stiles didn’t really think he’d get it, considering Principal Thomas was still the boss in Beacon Hills High. But, apparently, his incredibly good grades and recommendations were enough for Thomas to forget how much of a trouble maker Stiles was when he was a teenager. So, when the first day of school came around, Stiles found himself in the teacher’s lounge, a whole full hour before the first bell rang.

He was nervous as hell and thinking if he really needed to drink his third cup of coffee. He talked to his father before he left for work, but not even the Sheriff’s encouraging words weren’t able to calm Stiles down. But he pushed through it and managed to function normally.

There were a lot of teachers he didn’t know. Stiles tried his best to remember their names and what subject they taught. They were nice to him, even if he was the new one. They smiled, asked him why he chose Beacon Hills and gave him advice.

Of course, they stopped when Harris came in the room and started screaming.

‘What the hell are you doing here, Mr. Stilinski? Strangers aren’t allowed in the teacher’s lounge and you may have attended this school, but that was years ago. Please stop inflicting your idiotic opinions to my colleagues. Leave, before I call security!’

Stiles rolled his eyes so hard it almost gave him a headache. He ignored the curious looks he got from the other teachers and faked the biggest smile he could manage.

‘Awh, it’s so good to see you, Mr. Harris. It’s been years, hasn’t it?’

Harris puffed. ‘Stiles, I swear to God!’

‘Duuuude! Believe it or not, I do work here now, I teach English. It’s my first day and would you look at that?, I guess some things never change, you’re still making my life a living hell. Awesome, just awesome.’

‘Thomas hired you?’, Harris asked incredulously.

‘Yes.’, Stiles calmly took a sip of his coffee.

‘Why?’

‘Because I’m good at what I do. Because I finished college a valedictorian, because I studied for a semester in England, because not only do I have a masters in Literature, but also a minor in Psychology, because I had excellent recommendations from top of the line people, but, most importantly, because he likes me!’

Harris was staring at him with his eyes wide and jaw dropped.

‘Mr. Harris, it really is a pleasure to see you. It’s nice not to be surrounded by strangers on the first day of work, isn’t it? Anyway, would you be so kind and remember, next time we see each other, that I’m not a spastic 16 year old anymore, and you’re not supposed to treat me like shit? Cause now I can return the treatment.’

But before Harris got a chance to respond, the room shook when a familiar voice called out a horrible ‘BILINSKI!’

‘Oh good God’, Stiles groaned, ‘Finstock’s still here?’

‘You’re supposed to call him Coach’, the small redhead that taught math whispered.

‘He also likes being called cupcake.’, Stiles sighed and made his way to hug the older man.

⃝

After he managed to deal with the adults without making a complete fool of himself, Stiles rushed to the bathroom before his first class. He took off the white shirt and black tie he was wearing, changing into a Star Wars t-shirt. Some things never change, like Harris being a dick and Stiles’ love for graphic T-shirts. He didn’t wear them as often as he did in college, but he needed to impress a bunch of teenagers. He kept on the black jacket, though; he needed to look a bit professional. With one last check in the mirror (fly was up, glasses were clean, nothing nasty on the face), Stiles made his way to his first class.

It was bad. Very bad. He got into the room and, naturally, everybody was talking. But they didn’t stop when he came in. Stiles sighed. Even if he was 25, bartenders were still asking for his ID.

He smiled and kept his mouth shut as he made his way to the teacher’s desk. Stiles put his bag on the chair and sat on the desk, dangling his feet, looking over all the students.

After three minutes, one of the girls in the front row raised an eyebrow at him. She was beautiful, with blonde long hair, expensive clothes and 3 inch heels. It reminded Stiles of Lydia. He smiled at her, but she didn’t say anything, returning to the conversation she was having with the girl who stood behind her.

‘You’re gonna get in trouble.’, a guy from the front row said. He looked at Stiles for a couple of seconds, judged him thoroughly, then went back to his phone.

Stiles bit his cheek, trying not to laugh. He got down from the desk and made his way to the kid. ‘What am I gonna get in trouble for?’

‘For putting your ass on the teacher’s desk.’

At this point, half the class was silent, watching him with interest, while the other half was still talking, only looking at him from the corner of their eyes.

‘So, uhm. I guess it’s not allowed for someone to stay on the teacher’s desk?’, Stiles faked stupidity.

‘Of course not’, the blonde girl answered. She looked incredibly annoyed.

‘But. Uhm. I mean… is the teacher allowed to stay like that on the desk?’

The cocky guy frowned. ‘I guess. Nobody’s ever done it before.’

Stiles smiled. ‘Woo-hoo, I’m original. Awesome.’

That caused both the girl and the boy to roll their eyes. Stiles laughed while he made his way to the door, closing it.

‘Alright, guys, that’s enough!’, he raised his voice a bit, causing everybody to stop talking and look at him. He smiled. ‘My name is Stiles Stilinski, and I’ll be your English teacher this year. Firstly, let me settle the really important things. No, my name is not really Stiles, but nobody can pronounce my real name, and I’ve been going by Stiles since I was 10. Yes, Stilinski, as in Sheriff Stilinski, he’s my dad. Yes, I did go here before I left for college. I came back two weeks ago, by the way. I swear to God, this town has not changed at all in the past 6 years, how is that even possible? No, I don’t know any of your teachers from high school. Except Harris, Finstock, and Principal Thomas. I am still shocked that they’re still here, so let’s not ever talk about that. Ever. Please.’

He finished his rant and noticed that everybody was looking at him with wide eyes.

Stiles smiled, wishing they won’t notice his blush. ‘So, any questions?’

The blonde girl raised a hand. After he nodded, she asked in a slightly annoyed voice: ‘Are you even legal?’

Stiles facepalmed and groaned. ‘Yes, God damn it! I’m 25, if you must know. Do you wanna see my license? Ugh. Come on, guys, stop laughing. I know I look like a spoiled brat, it’s so hard getting a drink, you wouldn’t believe.’

‘Are you really going to teach us English?’, the blonde asked in an even more annoyed tone, shutting everybody else up.

Stiles raised an eyebrow. ‘You don’t think I can do that?’, he challenged.

‘You’re wearing a Star Wars t-shirt and complaining about not being able to get drinks. Excuse me if I am not convinced.’

Stiles nodded seriously. ‘I like you. You’re feisty. I bet you’re the type of person who never lets anyone tell her bullshit, right?’

‘Yes.’, she raised her chin.

‘Good’, Stiles smiled. ‘The truth is, this is the first time I’m teaching high school. I did teach college seminars for 2 years and elementary school in England for a semester. And, let’s be honest here, we all know how anal Principal Thomas is with the quality of his teachers, so, all modesty aside… Yes, I will be teaching you English.’

The girl nodded and opened her notebook.

‘Now that that’s settled…’ Stiles made his way back to the desk, sitting on it once again. ‘Any other questions before I start talking about the marvelous things you’ll be learning this year?’

A guy in the back raised his hand. ‘What do we call you?’

Stiles laughed. ‘Anything but Mr. Stilinski, I beg of you. That’s my dad.’

‘No, your father is Sheriff Stilinski.’

He narrowed his eyes at the blonde girl. ‘Jesus, you must be so fun at parties. How about this? Every time someone calls me Mr. Stilinski, I’ll give you all a pop quiz. Sound good?’ The kids looked a bit afraid, so Stiles did his best imitation of Mandark’s evil laugh.

He was cut short by Harris barging into his classroom. ‘Mr. Stilinski, do I need to remind you about appropriate behavior towards our students?’

Stiles laughed at the students’ terrified expressions. The blonde girl raised her hand. ‘The pop quiz rule doesn’t count if he’s the one that calls you that, right?’

‘No, no, no, of course not. Mr. Harris here is the exception. Truth be told, I don’t think I can convince him to call me anything else but that, considering he’s been doing it for 10 years. He hates me, so, I’ll give him that.’

‘I am standing right here’, Harris crossed his hands over his chest.

Stiles narrowed his eyes at him. ‘That’s your own fault. Don’t you have a class to go back to? I’m busy here!’. He made shooing motions with his hands and did his best death-glare.

After Harris left, the class was giggling. Stiles counted that as a win and went on with his first-day lecture.

⃝

All in all, the first day of school went fairly well. But he was tired by the time it was over, so he made his way to his favorite coffee shop. ‘The Couch’ was in the exact spot he left it 6 years ago. The small café maintained the same owners and, while the baristas changed, the coffee was still amazing.

On his way out, he nearly knocked Erica over.

‘Oh fuck. I am so sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.’

She ignored his apologies and hugged him. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’

Stiles laughed. They weren’t friends, not really. But they did speak on facebook every other week and they did run into each other in New York a couple of times.

‘Getting coffee?’

‘What are you doing in Beacon Hills, dumbass?’

‘I moved back two weeks ago. Teaching English at the high school.’

Her jaw dropped. ‘You’re kidding. Our high school?’

‘Oh, yes. Thomas is still there. And Finstock and Harris. Who still hates me, by the way. And the cafeteria food is still horrible.’

‘Oh my god, Stiles!’, she whined. ‘I am such in a hurry right now, but I want to catch up.’ She handed him her business card. ‘Call me sometimes, we’ll have dinner or something, please?’

‘Sure’, Stiles smiled. ‘Anything for my blonde queen!’

Erica laughed all the way to her car.

⃝

She meets Erica over dinner, the next weekend. She thinks it’s a date and literally whines when Stiles tells her he’s gay.

After that, they have fun. Talking about people from high school, about what they did in the past years, how they’ve changed. They’re both happy, if not a little lonely.

He meets her again the next week. And the next, and the next.

Next thing he knows, he’s sitting in his apartment, with Scott, Allison, Lydia, Jackson, Danny, Isaac and Erica, eating pizza and discussing politics. It feels like she belongs there, like she’s been there since high school.

Lydia follows him into the kitchen and pokes his sides. ‘She’s so different.’

‘We all are’, Stiles smiles.

‘We are, but... She fits right in now. And I’m happy about it, I’m glad you brought her in. But… do you think it would have been the same in high school?’

‘I don’t know, Lyds. But I don’t think it matters.’

Lidia smiles. ‘Look at you, Stilinski. When did you grow up?’

He laughs. ‘I didn’t. I still have Batman underwear.’

⃝

A few weeks later, he’s at the mall with the girls, looking for Allison’s wedding dress. She looks beautiful in every one of the 5 dresses she tries on. He tells her as much, and that she’s the best sister-in-law he can ask for.

‘God, Allison, can you believe it? You’re here, looking for a wedding dress. You’re marrying Scott! You’ve been together for 10 years and you’ve been through so much, but you’ve made it! Together. I am so happy for you, but how can we mere mortals compete with that? You’re perfect, Alli, you deserve all the happiness Scott will give you.’

She starts crying, hugs him and decides the dress she was currently trying on is not perfect.

Erica sits down next to him on the couch and takes his hand. ‘Thank you. I’m not sorry I wasn’t part of this back then. I can’t regret the past, but I am so glad I know all of you now.’

Stiles laughs. ‘We’re a bunch of damaged bastards, all traumatized by various events we went through when we were young, varying from dead parents, to adoption, rape and abuse. You should run and never come back.’

‘I fit right it’, Erica smiles. ‘You know how hard it was for me. I fit right in and you guys… you anchor each other. It’s a beautiful thing to watch from the outside, but being part of it… You’re helping me too, you know.’

‘Good.’ Stiles squeezes her hand and starts talking about the idiotic things he reads in the papers he has to grade.

⃝

Next weekend, he has dinner with Erica, just the two of them. She’s an editor for a publishing house based in LA. He tells her about the dream he had on the night before graduation. He tells her why he danced with her that night. He tells her how he kept writing and developing the books in the past 7 years. He tells her how much it helped him during college, how it was a way of relaxing. He tells her how he changed things millions and millions of times, each times he learned something new in school.

‘Nobody knows about them. Just you. I… they’re… something else. I’m not saying they’re good, I’m just saying that the story isn’t your typical werewolf love story. I… I kept the names, but please remember this is fiction. It’s not real. Even if you know the characters of the book, even though they look like them and think and react and sound like them… please remember they’re characters. They’re not accurate, their backstories. They’re not real. Nothing’s real.’

Erica looks … flabergastered. But she’s looking at him with big, soft eyes. ‘You… want me to read them?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know. I never intended to do anything with them. But… you… If someone’s gonna read them, it should be you. I’m not asking you to read them as an editor, I’m asking you to read them as my friend.’

She nods. ‘It would be my pleasure.’

⃝

The next week is insane. It’s midterms week, and the whole of Beacon Hills High went insane, students and teachers both. When Friday comes along, all Stiles wants to do is drink some beer, eat some pizza and watch stupid reality tv shows.

It’s 2 am and his phone is ringing. Erica sounds frantic, like she’s crying.

‘Sweetie, slow down, I can’t understand what you’re saying, Erica.’

‘They’re amazing, Stiles. They’re incredibly amazing and I just finished the forth one and I don’t know what to do with myself.’

Stiles opens his mouth and closes it a couple of times. He smiles.

‘Go to sleep, Erica. We’ll talk tomorrow.’

He hangs up and goes to bed with a smile on his face.

⃝

Erica spends the next week trying to convince Stiles to publish the books.

‘We’ll change all the names and the descriptions of the characters. Nobody will know it’s about them. Cause that’s what you’re worried about, isn’t it? You’re afraid people will know it’s about them and will think it’s real.’

‘There is a big possibility of that, yes.’, he answers, annoyed.

Erica takes his hand and looks into his eyes. ‘They won’t care. They’re such good books, Stiles. They deserved to be published. And you deserve it too. You should talk to them.’

‘No.’

‘Please.’

‘I can’t.’

‘Think about it.’

‘No.’

⃝

He does think about it. It’s the only thing he can think about.

He talks to his dad about it. He tells Stiles to talk to his friend.

He forgets all about it. Erica and the Sheriff don’t mention it again.

⃝

One week later, they’re at Isaac’s flat, eating pizza and discussing the movie they saw that night.

Allison tells Scott that _there’s no such thing as fate_.

Stiles freezes and catches Erica’s eye.

She smiles.

Stiles starts thinking about it again, because that was the last line of his second book.

⃝

One week later, he sends an e-mail to everyone, his father and Mrs. Mccall included.

_Dear friends,_

_Hello! Don’t stop reading, this is important. Nothing has ever been this important in my life._

_Ok, that’s an exaggeration, but still. :)_

_The night before I graduated high school, I had a horrible nightmare. I woke up screaming so loud that my dad came in with his gun drawn, do you remember that, dad? It was awful._

_I dreamt that … [please make sure you’re sitting down]_

_I wasn’t friends with you. It was just me and Scott. One night, I dragged him out in the woods and he got bit by a werewolf. He met Allison, fell in love with her, but when she found out that her family hunts werewolves, things between them got difficult. Another werewolf came to town, Derek Hale (no, there isn’t and never was a Derek Hale living in Beacon Hills, I checked). His whole family died in a fire. He tried to help Scott, but the one who bit him was more powerful than both of them._

_It goes on from there. Lydia got bit, Jackson got bit. Erica, Boyd and Isaac got bit. There were three different types of werewolves, hunters, werelizards, magic, evil, deranged humans, psychopaths, damaged teenagers, broken humans, kidnappings, torture, ritual murders, Celtic druids, manipulation, love, hate, humor, hate, hate, hate, love, blood, gore, and so on and so forth._

_It was one hell of a dream. Insane, right? Right. But it was so long, and so detailed. I couldn’t get it out of my head._

_Over the last 7 years I have been turning this fucked up dream into… words. It’s 4 volumes. Of us._

_Not us. Different versions of us._

_Erica read them. She wants to publish them. I don’t. Not really. I never thought about publishing them. But… If it were to happen, now would be a good time to do it._

_It’s not up to me. It’s not my story, not really. It’s your stories. What could never have been or been if, you know, werewolves were real._

_This is what I am afraid of: people recognizing you and assuming the stories are real._

_‘How can they think they’re real, werewolves aren’t real!’. That’s what Lydia’s thinking right now, aren’t you? Just… go with it. I promise you the books don’t reveal anything real that any of you wouldn’t want anyone else to know. If we’re doing this, Erica and I will change all the names and character descriptions. She thinks it will be enough._

_Please. Read them. I know they’re long, but Erica says they’re good._

_They hurt, though. Quite a bit. You have been warned._

_But, please. Read them. It’s your decision if we publish these or not. If we don’t, that’s fine by me. I’m happy you got to read them._

_Hugs and kisses, ss_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Teen Wolf Chronicles are published and Stiles meets the Hales. Again.

**_The Teen Wolf Chronicles. Short summaries._ **

_Book 1: _

Stiles drags Scott out into the woods one night. Scott gets bit by a werewolf. Derek Hale comes back to town, right when his sister Laura shows up dead. The boys learn that Derek and Laura were werewolves. Derek tries to help Scott defeat the Alpha werewolf who bit him. They don’t succeed, because they’re just Betas, not powerful enough to stand their own against an Alpha.

Scott meets Allison Argent, and falls in love. She’s a werewolf hunter. Her aunt, Kate Argent, is the one who set fire to all of Derek’s family six years ago. Peter Hale, Derek’s uncle, is the Alpha who bit Scott. He kills Kate. Stiles, Jackson and Allison set him on fire. Derek slashes his throat.

Derek’s the Alpha now. 

_Book 2:_

Allison and Scott are still together, sneaking around because her family begins training her, to become a hunter. Her grandfather comes to town and tries to control her.

Derek bites Jackson, Isaac, Erica and Boyd. It doesn’t take with Jackson, he’s not changing. Lydia wakes up, she’s not a werewolf either. A were-lizard is killing people in Beacon Hills.

Derek and Scott try to find out who it is. Jackson or Lydia? The Kanima is being controlled by a master, targeting victims on orders.

Jackson is the Kanima, he is being controlled by Matt. They try to catch him, and fail on multiple occasions. In the crossfire, Allison’s mother kills herself after being bitten by a disoriented Derek. Stiles discovers he has some sort of magical powers. Lydia doesn’t know about anything that is happening around her. She’s being controlled by Peter Hale, succeeding in bringing him back to life.

Gerard Argent, Allison’s grandfather, kills Matt and is now in control of the Kanima.

Erica and Boyd leave Derek’s pack. Gerard captures them and tortures them. He kidnaps Stiles and hurts him as a message.

Scott betrays Derek, siding with Gerard. The old man is dying of cancer, and thinks he’ll live if he’s a werewolf. Derek is forced to bite him. The bite doesn’t take, because Scott betrayed Gerard too, feeding him mountain ash, which is poisonous for werewolves.

Lydia knows a few things, and while she doesn’t understand everything, she still loves Jackson, convincing Stiles to take her to him. Derek and Peter kill Jackson, but Lydia’s love saves him. He is now a werewolf.

Scott and Allison break up, even though they still love each other.

A pack of Alphas comes to Beacon Hills, taking Erica and Boyd. Derek, Peter, Isaac and Jackson prepare themselves.

_Book 3:_

After months of radio silence, Scott and Stiles are forced to work with Derek’s pack, once again. They have found where the Alphas are keeping Boyd and another girl.

When they get there, Erica is dead, and they find Boyd and Cora Hale, Derek’s little sister, feral. They’re forced to work with Chris Argent, Allison’s father, to capture them.

Meanwhile, somebody is killing people in Beacon Hills, using an old Celtic ritual. Stiles and Lydia, with the help of Doctor Deaton, figure out the killer is a dark druid, a darach, who is killing certain groups of people, in increments of 3. First virgins, then warriors, then healers.

During a fight with the Alpha pack, Derek kills one of them and everybody thinks Derek is dead too. Their distress makes the werewolves a perfect target for the druid, who tries to make the werewolves kill themselves during an over-night school trip. Stiles, Lydia and Allison save them.

Derek goes to the new English teacher for help. They have sex and form a connection.

Stiles works with Cora and Lydia, trying to figure out who is the druid. In the meantime, Scott saves Doctor Deaton, who has been captured by the darach. Derek, Isaac, Boyd and Jackson fight the Alpha pack. They force Derek to kill Boyd.

Derek has one month to join the Alpha pack, or they kill everyone.

Scott becomes a ‘true Alpha’.

_Book 4:_

They start working together. Derek, Scott, Stiles, Isaac, Cora, Jackson, Peter, Allison and Lydia, Danny. They learn more things about the darach, how it’s rituals are supposed to make Alphas stronger. They figure out Lydia is a banshee, drawn to death and highly connected to magical people. Allison tells them that Gerard is still alive, and that he is working with the darach.

They make plans to fight the Alphas and the darach. None of them work.

The Alphas trap them in a hospital. The Sheriff and Mrs. Mccall are there too, as is Derek’s girlfriend, the English teacher. She tries to kill Lydia, telling her how she is the dark druid, how she was doing all of this to help Derek battle the Alphas. Stiles kills her with a bat.

One of the twin Alphas hurts Mrs. Mccall. Scott slashes his throat.

Kali throws a knife at the Sheriff. It’s just a scratch, but Stiles looses it. He goes insane, and all the magic he didn’t know he had is directed towards the Alpha. She dies screaming. Derek is the one who calms Stiles down and explains everything to the Sheriff.

Deucalion kills Isaac. Cora screams, and Stiles uses his magic to control the Alpha, while Derek rips his head off.

Everybody is crying and Stiles is screaming. He uses his magic to get rid of all the bodies and the blood. All his friends are afraid of him and his father is terrified.

Over the next months, they all mourn.

In the end, Beacon Hills has a pack that consists of two different types of Alphas, four betas, a banshee, a powerful mage, a hunter, the Sheriff of the town, a nurse, a hacker. Derek is the leader of the Hale pack. They’re stronger than they ever were. Even if they’re more damaged than ever before.

Scott and Allison are in love. Scott is Stiles’ brother. Stiles treats Cora like she’s his little sister. Allison and Lydia are inseparable. Derek and Stiles are dating. Peter is as sarcastic as ever. The Sheriff and Mrs. Mccall cook for them all and hug them with every chance they get.

⃝

Over the next few weeks, Stiles gets messages from his friends, at all hours of the day and night.

Scott: Dude, that first sex scene between me and Allison was pretty hot. Weird to write, tho? I assume.

Lydia: You’re making me look stupid.

Allison: I am a bit dumb, aren’t I?

Scott: DEATON ?!!??!?!

Isaac: I’m not even in this book and I can’t stop reading it.

Lydia: Did you really have a crush on me in high school?

Danny: Derek has some sass.

Allison: Now I’m badass, I love it.

Isaac: Fuck Kate.

Jackson: Did we bond over setting a werewolf on fire?

Scott: Why did Derek do that? Why didn’t he let me kill Peter to get the cure?

Lydia: So first I’m stupid, then I’m in a coma. Brilliant.

Isaac: Why did Derek bite us, though?

Jackson: WHY AM I NOT TURNING?

Danny: I am adorable, thank you.

Allison: The dinner scenes with Scott and my dad are freakishly accurate.

Lydia: The pool scene with Derek. Why I am I crying?

Allison: Stiles, the scene with you and Derek in the pool. Scott and I are both crying.

Danny: Please tell me you’re going to end up with Derek.

Jackson: DUDE. I  don’t understand why the pool scene is happening.

Dad: I’m at the pool scene. Jesus, kid.

Jackson: DUDE IM THE KANIMA WHY WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU

Lydia: Did you do magic outside the rave?

Dad: It pains me to even think our relationship could have ever gotten that bad. I love you, kid.

Danny: What is up with you and Derek?

Scott: Those hallucinations were horrible.

Dad: You know I have never thought about what I said at Lydia’s party, right? It’s bullshit.

Lydia: Did I do magic with Peter?

Allison: I would never do that to Erica and Boyd.

Isaac: Did I stay for Derek or did I stay for Scott?

Allison: Scott couldn’t read when Gerard was beating you. I had to read it to him. I wasn’t any better.

Dad:  Jesus, Stiles. You’re coming for dinner tonight, I need to see you.

Scott: Derek was just doing what he thought he was right.

Lydia: It’s incredible how you managed to explain our love in a werewolf universe. With a key. We both cried.

Jackson: You’re writing my wedding vows.

Mrs. Mccall: I will kill you with hugs next time I see you.

Allison: Does Derek ever get a break?

Isaac: How did Cora survive the fire, though?

Scott: Is Heather real?

Danny: Dude, I know I have a bad love life, but really? Evil Alpha?

Lydia: Derek and Jennifer. NO. JUST. NO.

Allison: Why would you write something like this?

Scott: I love you so much

Isaac: I have been crying for two hours now because the motel

Jackson: How could you even write the motel, man? I don’t understand.

Lydia: The motel is perfectly horrible

Mrs. Mccall: This hurts so much.

Isaac: I didn’t even know Boyd back in high school. I feel like shit now.

Allison: How did Erica manage to get past the Boyd scene?

Danny: There’s definitely something between you and Derek.

Scott: I’M A WHAT NOW?

Isaac: We should’ve just worked together from the start.

Lydia: We’re smart together. Badass.

                After that, for the next two days, Stiles didn’t get any more text messages. He didn’t talk with his friends at all. Then…

Mrs. Mccall: I finished. From the moment you mentioned me in the hospital, I cried.

Dad: I have no words. I love you.

Allison: We’re done. We’re both crying. We love you.

Scott: I’m coming over tomorrow.

Isaac: I get why you killed me. I’m not mad. You’re amazing.

Danny: I don’t understand why you kept these to yourself, Stiles. They’re incredible. And I KNEW YOU AND DEREK WOULD END UP TOGETHER!

Jackson: Stilinski, you’re something else.

Lydia: I love you. Don’t you ever forget that.

Erica: You know. All of them texted me, asking me to convince you to publish them.

⃝

So, Stiles caved in. During finals week, Stiles and Erica re-read the books together, changing names and descriptions. They made book 3 and 4 into one big volume, because they both agreed it would kill the readers to not be able to continue reading the story after the third one ends.

_Teen Wolf Chronicles: Omega, Beta, Alpha._

They published one book every six months. The first one stayed on top of the New York Times’ best sellers top for two weeks. The first day of school after that, his students greeted him with applauses.

In the two years that followed their decisions to publish, Stiles kept teaching at Beacon Hills High. He had dinner with his father, he went out with his friends. He fucked around and had two serious relationships, and they both ended as friendly as possible. He did interviews and went on tours when the books came out. He was somewhat popular, and his students adored him and his books.

Stiles was happy.

⃝

 _Alpha_ came out two weeks ago. Stiles and Erica were in New York, for his final book signing. The last one of this tour, the last one for Teen Wolf. It was a hot summer’s day and Stiles couldn’t wait for it all to finish, so he can take Erica and show her his favorite places in the city.

There’s only two people left, a man and a woman, and when he hands Stiles the books he wants signed, Stiles’ heart stops beating.

‘I must be going insane’, he thought, ‘because there is no way these people are in front of me right now’. Stiles recognized them from his dream. The Dream.

Derek and Laura Hale, exactly how he remembers them. Derek, all muscles and stubble, and Laura, soft and beautiful. And the eyes, their eyes made out of different colors, the eyes that could make Stiles’ world stop spinning.

The man stared at Stiles and the woman smiled. ‘For Derek and Laura, please’, she said.

Stiles shook himself out of it and controlled his shivering hands while signing the copies of _Alpha_.

He smiled at the woman. ‘Nice names, if I do say so myself.’

She laughed. ‘They are, thank you. It’s Derek and Laura Hale, by the way.’

‘Excuse me?’, Stiles finished signing the books and gave them back to the man. Who was still staring at him.

‘Our names really are Derek and Laura Hale’, he said. His tone was soft, even if he had a rough voice.

‘Yeah’, Laura put a hand on the back of Derek’s neck. ‘And our little sister Cora really is in the car, waiting for us, and we really should leave, because she gets anxious really fast. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Stilinski. We both loved your work and we hope we’ll see more from you!’

Stiles was lost. He wanted to ask them so many things, but his mouth decided on a cold ‘Are you lying?’

Laura rolled her eyes and Derek laughed. ‘No, we’re really not.’

Stiles sighed and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. ‘You don’t happen to be werewolves by any chance, do you?’

‘Of course not.’, Derek answered calmly.

‘I don’t know you.’, Stiles whispers.

Derek nodded. ‘It was nice meeting you, Stiles.’.

And then they were gone.

Erica came back to him then, and she whistled. ‘Maaan, that guy was hot! And he was totally checking you out.’

‘That was Derek Hale.’

‘What?’

‘That was Derek Hale. And Laura Hale. And they looked exactly how I remember them.’

Erica blinked. ‘Are you insane?’

‘Possibly.’

Erica laughed. Then, she called Scott and Lydia. They laughed. And Stiles didn’t say anything for a long while.

⃝

Stiles didn’t think about Derek or Laura anymore. He dreamt of them, though. Well, he dreamt of Derek. Of his hands on Stiles’ hips, and their lips meeting, and Stiles’ fingers in Derek’s hair and it was all so very, very, hot. It’s been years since Stiles had sex dreams like this, and now he’d wake up almost every morning hard and panting. So, he didn’t think about Derek. At all. Only in his dreams.

But he dealt with it. He went back to school, taught the marvelous teenagers of Beacon Hills, went out with his friends, had dinner with his dad, annoyed Harris. All was well.

Until it wasn’t.

It was the first day of school, after a short holiday. He was five minutes into his first class of the day, when Principal Thomas interrupts him in order to bring a new student in. His heart stops beating. Again.

‘Kids, this is Cora Hale, her family just moved into town. I know it’s the middle of the school year, but I’m sure there won’t be any problems and you will be nice to her. Right?’

‘Of course they will’, Stiles scoffed.

‘Well then, good. Excuse me for interrupting your class, Stiles’, Thomas said on his way out.

Stiles smiled at the girl. She looked exactly how he remembered her, but she was wearing more… fashionable clothes. She was beautiful.  ‘Unfortunately for you, the only free spot is right in front of the class. You’ll have to battle your colleagues for a better desk next time. Please, have a sit there, for now.’

‘Thank you, Mr. Stilinski.’

Stiles started laughing while all the students started shouting. He whistled.

‘Calm down, jesus, you’re like a pack of wolves. She didn’t know!’

‘Know what?’, Cora asked in a scared voice.

‘You don’t call me that. You never call me that, nobody calls me that. Except Mr. Harris, but we don’t talk about that. You can call me any way you like, except Mr. Stilinski. If you do, you all get a pop quiz.’

‘We usually call him Professor Stiles.’, one of the girls chipped in.

‘Isn’t that a bit demeaning?’, Cora questioned.

Stiles smiled. ‘Is it?’

‘Yeah, yes. I mean, I was taught growing up that calling someone with their function and their first name is rude.’

‘That is correct, yes. I would be rude if I’d address you with ‘Miss Cora’. However, Stiles isn’t really my real name.’

‘What is your real name?’

‘You can’t pronounce it.’, Stiles pouted. ‘That’s why everybody calls me Stiles. I don’t mind you calling me Professor Stiles. I maybe even like it a little bit. You tickle my ego.’ A few of the girls laughed. Cora lifted an eyebrow, and Stiles had a flashback of Derek. He ignored it.

‘Well, Miss Hale, you have a lot to learn about this class. Well, no, you have a lot to learn about me and my weird way of being. But I am sure your colleagues will gladly fill you in on your own time.’

‘If I’m going to call you Professor Stiles, you sure as hell won’t be calling me Miss Hale. That’s my sister.’, she pouted and it was adorable.

Stiles laughed. ‘Deal. Cora.’

‘Did you two know each other before this?’, Alexandra asked. She was the feisty blond from his first day, and Stiles wasn’t surprised when he figured out she was the smartest girl in school.

‘No, we did not, I assure you.’, Stiles blushed.

‘But, in all fairness, I do have an older brother called Derek and an older sister called Laura. Our parents didn’t die in a fire, but in a car crash. Never had an uncle, though. Oh, and, obviously, we’re not werewolves.’

Stiles choked on air. Cora grinned.

‘The world is a weird place, Professor Stilinski.’

‘And on that note, let’s talk about Shakespeare’s _Midsummer Night’s Dream_ ’.

⃝

That evening, when Stiles told his friends about Cora, they laughed for half an hour straight. In the end, it was Lydia who was the voice of reason.

‘It is weird, though. Do you think it’s the same Hale’s you saw in New York?’

‘I have no idea.’

‘It’s not possible, you dreamt them.’

‘Of course it’s not possible’, Stiles scoffed. ‘I think it’s the exception that defines my dad’s rule, though.’

‘One’s an incident, two’s a coincidence, three’s a pattern’, Scott said, automatically.

‘Exactly. Cora, Laura, Derek. It’s not possible, though.’

‘It is awesome, though.’, Erica said, laughing.

Stiles rolled his eyes and promised himself that he was going to deal with it. He wasn’t going to think about it, Cora was his student, he’s only ever seen Derek and Laura once. If they were the Hale family from New York, if they really did move to Beacon Hills, Stiles will just deal with it as a weird freaky coincidence.

⃝

A couple of days later, Stiles was in the grocery store parking lot, loading his car with shopping bags, when he heard someone call ‘Professor Stilinski’. He turned around and he saw Cora and Derek make their way towards him.

And fuck, Stiles was so screwed. Because Derek was Derek, The Derek, from his dream and from New York. And he was the hottest man Stiles has ever seen. He was so screwed. But he promised himself he won’t make this weird. He took a deep breath and smiled.

‘Hello, Cora! And Derek, right?’

The man blinked. ‘You remember me?’

‘It’s not every day I meet the product of my imagination.’, Stiles chuckled.

Derek blushed a bit and Cora rolled her eyes. Stiles couldn’t believe this was really happening. He turned around and closed the trunk of his car.

‘So, what brings you to Beacon Hills? Principal Thomas told me you just moved here?’

‘Yes, Me and Laura…’

‘Laura and I’, Cora corrected her brother and Stiles giggled.

‘Laura and I’, Derek continued with a pointed look at his little sister. ‘Were really tired of the big city. Cora agreed. Laura works from home and I found a job here, so it wasn’t really a problem to move.  We know it’s bad moving Cora in the middle of the year, but…’

‘Oh, I don’t think that will be a problem.’, Stiles interrupted him and smiled at Cora. ’I’ve read your file, young lady! You’re smart as hell and some sort of social wizard, from what I’ve gathered. I don’t think you’ll have any problem adapting here.’

Derek let out a long breath and smiled. Cora ignored him.

‘That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Stiles. I have a question.’

‘Shoot!’

Stiles couldn’t help but smile while listening to her. She was adorable and beautiful and even though this Cora Hale was real, not his dream version, he couldn’t help but feel connected to her. And the fond way Derek looked as his little sister made Stiles’ heart melt.

‘I think I have understood all your… uhm… weird ways of being. Everybody was really helpful and filled me in quickly. They’re really nice and all, but they get annoying. They wouldn’t tell me what I have to do for extra credit in your class. And I know there’s something, I figured that much out, and it must be something weird considering how they were acting when I asked, but they won’t tell me.’

‘Oh my god’, Stiles started laughing. ‘I am so sorry’. He couldn’t stop laughing.

‘See? Now you’re annoying too!’, Cora scoffed. Stiles laughed even harder.

‘Cora, that was incredibly rude.’, Derek put a hand on the back of her neck and squeezed.

‘Yes, but he’s rude too. Come on, Stiles, tell me!’

‘Oh god, I am so sorry.’ He managed to catch his breath. ‘I was rude, I’m sorry, it’s fine. Oh god. Are… Are you sure you want to know? Because it’s weird. We’re talking Twilight Zone levels of weird here, especially for you.’

‘Tell me, please!’, she whined, while Derek chuckled.

Stiles nodded and forced himself to sound serious.

‘Well, you already know about _Teen Wolf_ and I assume your colleagues have filled you in on how much of a shameless narcissist I am.’

Cora nodded. Derek raised an eyebrow.

‘Fanfiction. You get extra points if you write fanfiction. Obviously, they all assumed it has to be _Teen Wolf_ and I enjoy that one the best, if I’m being honest. But it’s not necessary. Any fanfiction for any book, movie, tv series. Of course, the better it is, the more points you get. And, obviously, you’ll get even more points if I actually know what you’re talking about. I’ll email you a selection of things I like. It’s a big list, like 300 different things, I’m sure you’ll be able to find something.’

Derek looked like he swallowed a lemon and Cora looked like she was about to be murdered.

‘You want me to write porn? About my family?’, she screamed, causing a few people to turn their heads.

Stiles laughed.

‘No, see, that’s a misconception. Fanfiction doesn’t mean porn. Fanfictions are stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work. Really, check Wikipedia. Nowhere in that does it say ‘porn’. Just because most of it ends in porn, doesn’t mean that’s mandatory. I mean, if you want to write fanfiction for extra points, you really shouldn’t write porn. I might have an open mind, but you’re not supposed to hand in porn to your teacher. Never ever, especially if you’re 15. I do not, under any circumstances, condone that. Also, fyi, I don’t know you people! _Teen Wolf_ isn’t about you! They’re fictional characters my weird mind created. I feel like we should get that out in the open. It’s just one big, incredibly impossible, freaky coincidence.’

Derek was staring at him, jaw dropped, clearly shocked. Cora had the same reaction, but she recovered quickly. She laughed and poked his brother in the ribs, making him adopt a more neutral expression.

Stiles smiled and Cora kissed his cheek. ‘You’re the best teacher in the history of ever! And Supernatural better be on that list you’ll send me!’

‘You got it!’, Stiles laughed.

‘Come on, brother!’, she said taking Derek’s hand and leading him towards the shop. ‘I’m sure Professor Stilinski has better things to do, like grading our papers on Shakespeare or something.’

Derek laughed.

‘Oh, you’re evil.’, Stiles mumbled as he got into his car.

He smiled all the way home. This wasn’t going to get weird. It was fine.

Except, you know, his massive crush on Derek. Well, his massive crush on dream-Derek and his incredible attraction towards real-Derek’s body. Yeah, Stiles was so screwed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the summaries are complete shit. But you get the idea, the novels are what we know happens in our beloved tv show. Well. I changed the ending, of course. And a few other things. I just... really don't like Jennifer, ok? Excuse me for that. And Stiles with magic makes a whole lotta sense. Also, Jackson's still alive and a werewolf and Derek's beta and everything is sunshine and rainbows.  
> I also took a bit of a liberty with Cora's age. For reasons :).


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles sees more of the Hales.

That weekend, Stiles didn’t meet Derek, he saw Laura. He was with his father having breakfast at the diner, when he literally bumped into her.

He started apologizing, but she laughed. ‘This has been long overdue, Stiles, considering how you’ve already seen the rest of my family and the fact that Cora gets to see you twice a week. I was beginning to feel neglected.’

Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘Welcome to Beacon Hills, Laura. Have you settled in yet?’, he asked sarcastically.

‘Yes. Yes we have, thank you! We still have a bit of work to do on the house but it shouldn’t take long now.’

‘Oh, you got a house?’

‘Yeah, the old one at the end of the preserve.’

Stiles raised an eyebrow. ‘That enormous old thing in the woods?’

‘Yup. We love it. I came here a few times over the last few months to check if the renovations are going well. And now, we just have to unpack a bit more and buy some decorations and stuff like that but we love it.’

‘I’m glad to hear that’, Stiles nodded. ‘And how are you settling in town? From what I see, Cora hasn’t had any problems adjusting.’

‘We’re good, Derek and I were sick and tired of New York, believe me! Beacon Hills is Heaven for us right now. And Cora agreed with us, she didn’t really have friends back there. She’s the main reason we moved, really. New York was way too big for her, and Derek and I had no roots there, not anymore. Cora was really excited when we started talking about the possibility of moving to a smaller city and I think it was the right call. She seems a lot happier here.’

‘I’m glad. She’s a great kid.’, he smiled.

‘And she can’t stop talking about you.’, Laura sang, mischievously.

Stiles rolled his eyes but felt himself flush.

‘Oh, come on, don’t be like that, Stiles. She really does adore you. And, from what I hear, most of the girls and half the guys in that school have a crush on you.’

‘Oh my god, Laura, please stop talking!’, Stiles groaned with his face in his hands.

‘But it is true.’

He sighed. ‘Of course it is. I still look like a highschooler and I’m just a bit cooler than any of their other teachers. Of course they have a crush on me. It’s in the job description, to be honest. It’s one of those things you ignore on a daily bases.’

Laura laughed and it was a delightful sound.

‘Would you please be so kind and not make my little sister fall in love with you? I don’t need that shit on my plate right now.’

Stiles rolled his eyes again. ‘Just stop talking, oh my god!’

Laura laughed some more. ‘It was nice seeing you, Stiles. Have a great day!’. She winked and kept giggling all the way to her car.

When Stiles got back to his table, his dad raised his most judgmental eyebrow at him. He ignored him.

⃝

The next day, Stiles had his friends over, for pizza night. Something was wrong with Lydia, Jackson and Danny, but every time he asked, they’d tell him everything was fine. Stiles didn’t believe them. So, he kept giving them drinks.

After a couple of Martini’s, Lydia finally caved.

‘Stiles, how does Derek look like?’

‘Perfect’, he answered, not missing a beat. Lydia raised an eyebrow and giggled.

‘I’m gonna need a bit more details than that, please.’

‘Why?’, Stiles narrowed his eyes.

‘Just tell me’, she whined.

‘Tall, dark and handsome? Fluffy black hair, always perfectly styled, eyes of an impossible color, sometimes green, sometimes blue, sometimes gray. He has the muscles of a Greek god and dimples and stubble and gravity defying eyebrows and beautiful hands and...’

Stiles stopped talking when he realized what he was saying. He was blushing and all of his friends were looking at him, with various levels of amusement. Erica smirked.

‘I knew it!’ Danny fist pumped the air. ‘I told you, Lydia. I fucking told you! You owe me 50 bucks.’

‘Well, shit.’, the girl sighed.

Everybody was silent for a few seconds, looking between Lydia and Danny.

‘What is it?’, Stiles asked, defeated.

Danny started laughing and Lydia looked… apologetic. She smiled at Stiles before she started talking.

‘We hired him. Derek. Hale. He’s working with us, and we’re lucky to have him, because he is a great lawyer and has a lot of experience. And, in our defense, we offered him the job even before you went to New York to the book signing. We laughed because his name was Derek Hale, we thought it was just a coincidence. We knew he had two sisters, but he didn’t tell us their names and when he explained he couldn’t take the job right away and that he’d have to wait a few months before moving to Beacon Hills, we were more than ready to wait for it. Because he is an amazing lawyer. And, well, we didn’t see him, not until he showed up to work on the first day. We only spoke on the phone before that.’

Stiles stared at her for a couple of seconds. Then he burst out laughing.

‘Jesus Christ, the guy’s a lawyer? I bet he wins all his trials because everybody’s afraid of his eyebrows.’

Danny laughed. ‘You sooooo want to bone him.’, he teased.

Stiles pretended to think about it for a couple of seconds, then waved his hands frantically. ‘Of course I want to bone him, everybody wants to bone him, my grandma would want to bone him, my 93 year old straight uncle would want to bone him! The guy looks like a walking gym advertisement! And don’t give me that look, you’d wanna get all up in that too!’

Danny laughed some more. But Jackson elbowed him in the ribs, while slowly asking Stiles:

‘But… do you want to bone Derek the lawyer, or do you want to bone Derek the Alpha?’

Stiles hesitated. ‘There isn’t a Derek the Alpha. That is not real, I know that. All of this is just a stupid coincidence and my mind playing tricks on me. And it’s never gonna happen, Derek and I, I know that. Cora’s my student and I’m pretty sure that would be a bit illegal, if not highly immoral. And let’s not get started on the whole ‘I didn’t know you when I wrote about you’ thing. That’s … awkward, to say the least. So, yeah, I’d bone him till next Tuesday, but it’s not gonna happen. I don’t even know the guy.’

‘Yet’, Lydia smiled. ‘You don’t know him yet.’

‘Well, you kinda do.’, Danny snickered.

‘No, I kinda don’t’, Stiles scoffed.

‘Yeah you do. He’s … similar to Alpha Derek. Not quite like him, of course not, but sometimes he does things or say something that is dead-on Alpha Derek. And we’d just stop and stare at him for a second, and then he’d realize why and he’d smile. I swear it’s the only times he smiles.’

‘So he knows you know Stiles?’, Allison asked.

‘No, I don’t think he does’, Jackson answered. ‘We have the books at the office and we just started talking about them once.  We had a laugh, teasing him about it.’

‘So he’s an ok guy, you get along well with him.’, Isaac concluded.

‘Yeah’, Jackson smiled.

‘Of course’, Lydia rolled his eyes. ‘Wouldn’t have hired him if we didn’t.’

Stiles hadn’t said anything, so they all turned their head towards him.

‘I cannot even begin to express how disturbing this is to me. I’m glad, though. That your firm is doing well.’

‘You’re digressing, Stiles.’, Lydia pointed a finger at him.

‘I beg of you, drop it. It’s not happening. Because _Teen Wolf_ is not real.’ His voice was harsh, even he didn’t recognize himself.

Scott smiled at him. ‘Ok, Stiles. They won’t do anything about it, try to hook you two up, or anything. None of us will. If anything happens with Not Alpha Derek, it will be on your terms.’

Stiles nodded and smiled at his best friend. For a few seconds, everybody was silent. Isaac started laughing.

‘Jesus Christ, Stiles, you’d be an amazing serial killer. Where the hell did that come from?’

Stiles shrugged, but he was laughing. ‘Don’t tempt me, Isaac. I’m a cop’s kid, I know several different ways to kill you without your body being found.’

⃝

Stiles was set upon maintaining a healthy distance between himself and the Hales. It was impossible.

Of course, he saw Cora in school and that was that. He was happy about it, though. He loves Cora, and he knows it’s highly inappropriate, being her teacher and all, but he never shows it in class. Outside of that, though, they started e-mailing each other. It quickly evolved into a friendship, not a teacher/student relationship. They’d talk when they’d see each other around town, too. Stiles didn’t act like her teacher then, and she loved it. He got to know her, and she got to know him.

He also kept bumping into Laura in town. At the grocery store, at the coffee shop, at the diner. Once, they ended up next to one another at a traffic light.  She rolled down her windows and she was listening to Katy Perry. Stiles was listening to Pendulum. Of course, they ended up having a contest, but Stiles won, because his stereo was louder. They were making faces at each other when the Sheriff appeared in the middle of their cars, looking extremely disappointed, arms crossed over his chest. Stiles and Laura shut the music and started laughing hysterically. ‘You’re children’, Stiles’ dad said while walking back to his car, just as the light turned green, and Stiles and Laura went separate ways.

And then, there was Derek. He hasn’t seen Derek. At all. Since the grocery store’s parking lot, he hasn’t seen him once. But he hears a lot about him. From Lydia, Jackson and Danny, who work with him every single day. From Isaac, who interacts with him sometimes at the police station. From Dad, who has to work with him every now and then. From Scott, who takes care of Derek’s husky.

So, even though he hasn’t seen him in weeks, Stiles feels like he knows Derek. And it’s frustrating, because now he knows he could easily fall in love with him. Yeah, Stiles was screwed. Royally.

⃝

Stiles has gotten used to his life being weird. More so, since _Teen Wolf_ got published. So, of course, on parent-teacher night, he is the one who has to talk to Cora’s guardians.

Derek’s looking as hot as ever, in a dark blue t-shirt and tight black jeans, Laura’s looking as beautiful as ever, in an oversized black dress, and Cora’s looking as nerd-y as ever, in a graphic t-shirt with the number Pi printed on it.

Stiles smiles, because he can’t help himself, but points a finger at her.

‘You’re not supposed to be in here, young lady.’

‘Pfffft’, she scoffs. ‘I know you don’t mind, Stiles.’

Before he can respond, Derek facepalms. ‘Why is it that every time you see your English teacher, you forget absolutely everything you were ever taught about being polite towards a superior?’

‘Shhh, Derek, it’s ok, he loves it’, Cora coos. ‘He’s always telling us he’s not a teacher anymore the second he walks out of class. Plus, he’s not my superior, just in class, and that’s only because he knows more things that me. I’m better than Stiles on soooo many other levels.’

‘Cora. Stop.’, Derek groans.

Stiles laughs. ‘Chill, Derek, it’s ok. She’s quite right, to be honest. And I don’t mind, I really don’t, I can handle a teenage brat with an ego the size of the Titanic.’

Derek’s jaw drops. Laura takes a deep breath, preparing to say something, but Cora beats her to it.

‘So I’m the egomaniac in this relationship? Really? REALLY? Are you sure about that, Stiles? Because last time I proved you wrong, you were depressed for a week.’

‘Was not! And I was not wrong, you just pointed out a different point of view, that just happened to be better on the long run! And, since we’re on that topic, why do you keep rubbing that in my face, huh? Does it feel good to make me suffer? Do you take pleasure in my pain?’

‘Damn right’, Cora laughed. ‘You’re an awful loser.’

‘And you’re a crappy winner.’

‘But you do accept the fact that I’ve won.’

‘Of course I do, because I have a brain that actually works.’

‘Really, Stiles? Now you’re going with stupid? Is that the best you’ve got?’

‘No, but I can’t use the really big words around you, cause you won’t really understand them, little one’, he snuck her tongue out at Cora.

Laura clapped. Twice. Stiles startled.

‘What the hell is happening right now?’, she asked.

Cora and Stiles laughed. Derek was looking a little pale.

‘Sorry, sis’, Cora grinned. ‘This is normal behavior. Well, when we’re not in class. We’re all professional and completely appropriate, I swear. But when we’re outside the classroom, it’s physically impossible for us not to insult each other.’

Derek narrowed his eyes at Stiles. ‘You’re supposed to be her teacher, not her friend.’

Stiles smiled. ‘They’re not mutually exclusive. What can I say, I multitask. I’m her teacher when I have to be and I’m her almost-friend in the meantime.’

‘Almost?’, Cora frowned.

‘Dude, I can’t be your friend. I’m you teacher, for god’s sake. And ten years older than you! Ten years, Cora! That’d be too weird.’

Cora stared for a second, then she punched Stiles in the chest. ‘You’re an asshole.’

‘Yes, yes I am’, he responded seriously. ‘It’s why we’ve bonded. Also, it’s why you’re gonna get your ass out of here while I, your English teacher, have a mature and important conversation with your brother and sister.’

‘No, I am not, Professor Stilinski, because you will not be telling them anything I don’t already know.’

Stiles rolled his eyes, and looked at Laura and Derek. They were both frowning, but he could tell they weren’t mad. ‘She’s right, you know. She can stay if that’s alright with you. But if you feel there are things you can’t say in front of her, I’ll make her leave.’

Derek and Laura both blinked and snapped out of whatever state they were in. ‘No’, Laura smiled. ‘She can stay. We don’t keep secrets from each other.’

Stiles smiled. ‘Thought so. Grab a seat, Cora. And try to be as silent as possible, considering you aren’t actually here.’

The girl giggled and jumped on his desk, bringing her knees to her chest. Stiles had to move his head to the right if he wanted to see Derek and Laura. He groaned and got up the chair, moved in front of the desk and leaned back on it.

Laura rolled her eyes. ‘You’re ten. It’s like your both ten. How the hell are you teaching her anything?’

‘Easily’, Stiles smiled. ‘Your sister is one of the smartest kids in this school. I would like to say she’s the smartest, but I would be lying.’

‘We have the same scores. Literally, they’re the same, Stiles. Same grades, same extra-curricular activities, same everything.’, Cora whined.

Stiles raised an eyebrow at her, and she stopped talking, pouting.

‘I would be lying, because even though, academically, Alexandra Drover and Cora are at exactly the same level, their IQ tests came back today and she received a higher score than Cora.’

Laura and Derek were looking at him with frowns on their faces and they looked so much alike, Stiles wanted to laugh. He didn’t, and maintained a somewhat professional tone.

‘Granted, Alexandra’s score was only one point above Cora’s. And, honestly, what’s the difference between a 158 and a 159, right?’

Derek’s eyes grew wider and Laura’s jaw dropped. ‘Don’t act so surprised, guys. I told you I was smart’, Cora giggled.

‘Smart, yes. Genius, though?’, Laura was looking at Stiles like she couldn’t believe her.

He nodded. ‘Pretty much, yeah. To tell you the truth, I don’t know why you’re here right now. There is absolutely no reason for us to be having this meeting. Cora’s grades are perfect, she made friends with almost everyone, instantly, from jocks to nerds to the marching band, she never skips school, she never causes any problems, she’s on the cross country team and has displayed brilliant leadership qualities, as well as the typical sports camaraderie, almost none of the teachers or her colleagues have anything bad to say about her… Except Harris. But let’s not talk about Harris, he only does it because he recognizes some of my past behaviors in her, and I really am sorry for that, he hates me and he shouldn’t pick on you, Cora, because you’re certainly not doing anything wrong. But I already spoke to him and I made Principal Thomas speak to him too and I’m sure he’ll cut you some slack in the future. He’ll still be an ass, but that’s just in his nature. But anyway, I got off track, where was I? Ah, yes, the conclusion.’ He faked-coughed while Cora rolled her eyes. ‘Your sister has been a great surprise. Moving in another city and to another school in the middle of the year is usually tricky, but she excelled at it.’

Laura and Cora were looking at the ground and smiling so fondly, and Cora was blushing at looking anywhere except Stiles.

‘But, I must tell you, if history has a knack for repeating itself, this will end in bloodshed.’

‘What?’, Laura and Derek screamed at the same time.

Stiles chuckled at their enthusiasm. ‘Well, considering Cora and Alexandra are now in the _I want to hate you but I can’t really seem to do that so I’ll just pretend to hate you profoundly_ stage, that might eventually stop, and it might evolve into a friendship over the years. And at the end of high school, Alexandra might finish as a valedictorian, and Cora might be the salutatorian, just because a jackass of a teacher gave her an A- on a random test, while Alexandra might have gotten an A. And she might get frustrated, and Alexandra might get mad because they both might have wanted to be valedictorians. But then you might get over it, and you might help her write her speech.’

‘Where’s the bloodshed, then?’, Laura asked.

‘At the ceremony, Alexandra will dig her nails into Cora’s hand, because she’ll be extremely nervous about speaking in front of all those people.’

Derek laughed, and his sisters turned to him with raised eyebrows. He composed himself, but he was still smiling when he answered.

‘Considering it’s not the first time I’ve heard a story like that, I think it’s safe to assume that history tends to repeat itself in Beacon Hills High.’

Stiles bit his lip and decided to go for it. ‘Actually, it’s the same story. Lydia was first, I was second. My hand was bruised for a week.’

Derek raised his eyebrows. ‘You… know Lydia?’

‘Yup. We’ve been friends since high school. We’re quite the gang, and, if I think about it, you know almost everyone in our group.’

‘I do?’, Derek’s face was pretty funny, a combination of disbelief and excitement.

‘Yup.’, Stiles smiled. ‘You obviously know Danny and Jackson, considering you work with them. And I guess you’ve met Isaac a couple of times at the police station. And Scott told me he takes care of your dog, and I believe his wife, Allison, was at the clinic too, at some point.’

Derek’s mouth was slightly open, and his eyebrows were doing something weird and gravity defying.

‘You all know each other?’

‘We’ve been friends for over a decade. Some even more than that, Scott and I have been inseparable since kindergarten, and Danny and Jackson know each other since grade school. Only Erica is somewhat of a new addition, since I came back to Beacon Hills, so… about three years ago. But she went here too, we just weren’t friends back then. And, well, yeah, she’s the only one you don’t know.’

‘You wouldn’t happen to be talking about Erica Reyes, would you?’, Laura asked in a monotone voice.

Stiles’ eyes widened. ‘Uh… I was, actually, yeah.’

Laura laughed. ‘Well, no, Derek doesn’t know her, but I do. She’s my publicist.’

‘You write?’

‘Yes and no’, Laura teased.

‘So, graphic novels, then.’, Stiles deduced.

‘Well, you’re smart’, Laura answered, after a beat.

Stiles laughed.

‘Guys, this is really fucked up.’, Cora said in a small voice.

‘Language!’, Stiles and Derek said at the same time.

Laura snorted.

‘She’s right, though. It is a bit weird.’, Stiles shrugged.

‘Is it weird because we’re the figment of your imagination, or because it’s a small town in which everybody knows everybody?’, Derek asked in a completely normal tone and it took Stiles a few beats to think of a socially adequate response.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. ‘You’re not figments of my imagination, because firstly, I do not have the tendency to hallucinate, and secondly, because I know from a trustworthy source that you’re not like my Derek Hale.’

Derek’s right eye twitched. ‘Really?’, he asked.

Stiles nodded. ‘Lydia told me you didn’t like Harry Potter. Who doesn’t like Harry Potter? My Derek Hale liked Harry Potter.’

The room was silent for a few seconds, and then they all burst out laughing.

Even though Stiles managed to maintain the illusion that he was a somewhat responsible adult during this conversation, on the inside he was freaking out. Massively. He didn’t understand how this was happening, because these were people that he dreamt about. Like Danny and Jackson said, there are little things about them that make him think immediately about the characters in his books. And it’s so weird but Stiles promised himself he wasn’t going to make it weirder than it already is, but apparently his heart didn’t get the memo, because it was still beating a bit fast and it skipped a beat every time Derek smiled.

‘Where did you go?’, Cora brought him back from him to reality, brushing her fingers over his shoulder.

‘Sorry, what?’

‘Where did you go? You completely zoned out for, like a whole minute.’

He turned to Derek and Laura, who were watching him curiously, and smiled. ‘Sorry. It’s the ADD. I didn’t grow out of it completely.’

‘Are you sure it’s your ADD?’, Cora asked in a fake concerned voice ‘Or is it just the fact that you’re an insane bastard with psychopathic tendencies?’

Laura choked on a laugh. Stiles turned to her, deciding to give Cora this one.

‘So, I think I’m done with this incredibly normal and professional guardians/teacher conference. Do you have anything to add, any questions or complaints?’

Laura laughed even harder. Derek shook his head. ‘Are you like this will all your students?’

Stiles shrugged. ‘No, most of them are idiotic hormonal teenagers, set on making my life a living hell. They’re all pretty smart, but few of them are actually intelligent. Your little sister happens to be awesome, too.’

Derek smiled and Stiles couldn’t stop looking into his eyes.

Laura put a hand on her brother’s neck. ‘So, Mr. Stilinski, how weird, or immoral, or illegal would it be for us to invite you over to dinner Friday night?’

Stiles’ heart skipped a beat. He panicked for a second, then he relaxed, tilting his head to the side.

‘Now why would you want to do that?’

‘Because Lydia, Jackson and Danny are already coming, and I have a feeling that if you show up too, Isaac, Erica, Scott and Allison would be easier to convince.’

Stiles’s jaw dropped. But he composed himself quickly, adopting a mischievous look. He’s always been a great actor.

‘Are you sure you’re up to that, Laura? All of us? In the same room? All together? It took my dad 5 years to teach himself how to be able to handle us, even though he’s the Sheriff. You think you can handle it on the first go?’

Laura raised an eyebrow. ‘Is that a challenge, Stilinski?’

‘Of course not, m’lady. It’s a fact. I was just trying to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.’

‘It’s just dinner, not World War Three.’, Derek whispered.

Stiles glared. ‘Think about it, Derek. You know how Lydia is. And you know how Jackson and Danny are. And you know how Isaac is, and Scott, and now me. Now, imagine all of us in the same place. With Allison and Erica too. With drinks.’

Derek frowned. ‘I’m scared now.’

Laura gave him a gentle slap on the back of the head. ‘What the hell?’

Derek slapped her knee. ‘No, I’m serious. They’re nice people, but put them all together and I don’t think we can take it.’

‘You’re being idiots. Both of you. It’s settled then. Stiles, Friday night at 7. You know how to get to the house?’

He nodded. ‘You really shouldn’t do this, Laura. There are… better people in this town.’

Cora slapped him on the back of his head. ‘Don’t be an idiot.’ She kissed his cheek. ‘See you Friday!’. Next thing he knew, Laura was off her chair and giving him a kiss on the other cheek. ‘We’re gonna have so much fun, Stiles. Just you see. Stop overreacting, we’re not going to break into your Scooby gang!’

‘No, God, it’s not like that, Laura, no, that’s not what I meant…’, Stiles blushed.

Laura put a finger over his mouth, shutting him up. ‘Good. Perfect. See you on Friday. You’re in charge of desert! Tell your friends to bring alcohol.’

She left, leaving a shocked Stiles in the same room with Derek. Derek, who was looking at Stiles with concern in his eyes.

‘Are you ok, Stiles? My sisters can be a bit … too much, at times.’

Stiles shook his head. ‘No, man, they’re great. I’m just… I just…’ He frowned. ‘I don’t fully understand what happened.’

Derek shrugged.

Stiles sighed. ‘Laura’s bossy.’

‘Yeah. I’m afraid what will happen when she meets Lydia. I have a feeling they’ll become friends and if that happens, I think we’re dead.’

Derek spoke in a completely normal voice, so it took Stiles a little while to realize he was joking. But still…

‘You’re joking, Derek, but it’s not funny, because that could actually happen.’

Derek smiled. ‘Yeah’.

‘Well, shit.’, Stiles pouted.

They stood in silence for a few seconds, but when they looked at each other, they both started laughing.

Derek stuck his hand out towards Stiles, and he gladly shook hit, ignoring the butterflies that appeared in his stomach.

‘See you Friday, Stiles.’

⃝

Later that evening, when he checked, Erica had sent them all an email.

 ‘ _Apparently, I am Laura Hale’s publicist. Apparently, Derek knows everyone in our 'Scooby gang', except me. Apparently, Cora and Stiles are BBFs and it's a sight to behold. Apparently, Stiles made Derek laugh and, apparently, that doesn’t usually happen. Apparently, we are all going to the Hale house Friday night for dinner. We are going. We are all going. Right?’_

The answers would have been hilarious from Stiles’ perspective, if he wasn’t freaking out so much.

Lydia: _Oh thank God, finally. Yes, we are going, and I promise I’ll make sure Jackson won’t laugh in their faces, like he is right now. He fell of the couch laughing. I don’t get it, it’s not that funny._

Jackson: _Stilinski, this soap opera is better than your novels._

Danny: _Holy shit! This is priceless. I can’t wait! I’m finally going to see Stiles and Derek in the same room, bless the Heavens, it feels like Christmas!_

Allison: _Guys, calm down. We promised Stiles something, and we’re going to stick with it. We’re not going to make this weirder than it already is. That being said, I CAN’T WAIT TO MEET LAURA AND CORA._

Scott: _Alli’s right, we’re sticking to our promise. Also, fyi, make sure not to wear pink socks. Newt, their dog, will assume they're his candy and will chew on them._

Isaac: _I planned a date on Friday. I’ve already canceled. Should I bring anything?_

Stiles sighed. Loudly. He responded:

Stiles: _I don’t understand you people. How are you not freaking out about them? Yeah, it’s a coincidence, but it’s freaky! Jesus! Here I am, hyperventilating because a guy I dreamt about ten years ago shook my hand today, and you’re all like ‘haha, let’s tease Stiles about his stupid libido’. You’re all awful. I love you guys, but you’re terrible. On that note, Laura thinks she can handle us. Derek and I are not convinced. So, play nicely. And if any of you say anything even remotely mean to Cora, I will rip your heart out of your chest and claw your eyes out their sockets. I’m in charge of desert. You guys have to bring drinks. Make sure to bring one or two cans of that horrible lemon beer, the one with the least alcohol. Cora loves it. Also, I will only say this once. There is nothing going now between me and Derek. That being said… See you Friday! We’ll have fun.’_

Two minutes later, Scott was the only one who responded.

Scott: _Stiles, stop freaking out. It’s going to be awesome. Chocolate chip muffins? Please? I’ll help._


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with the Hales.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys read The Maze Runner? You should. It's a great series of books. Dylan will play Thomas, the main character, in the movie adaptation of the books. ... I wanted to say this because of reasons :)

By the time Friday night came along, Stiles had gone through every possible emotion in regards to the dinner. He’d been stressed, excited, happy, sad, exhausted, scared, and so on and so forth.

Now, he was in his car, with Isaac on his right and Danny in the back, with 4 dozens muffins in the trunk and a couple of bottles of wine, driving on the old forest road that lead to the Hale house. Stiles was feeling a lot of things, it was hard to pinpoint only one sentiment. But, most of all, he was curious, so so curious about the interactions between people. Cora and her siblings, Derek and Lydia, Laura and Lydia, Cora and Scott, Derek and Jackson, Derek and Scott, Isaac and -

‘Stiles, did you forget to breathe?’

‘No, Isaac, I didn’t forget to breathe.’

‘You were looking a little pale there.’

‘I hate you, shut up.’

‘Awh, are you nervous?’

‘Shut up.’

‘You’re nervous!’

‘Shut up.’

‘Are we there yet?’, Danny asked from the back.

‘5 more minutes.’

‘Will you calm down in the next 5 minutes?’

Stiles sighed. ‘Yes.’

‘Perfect’, Isaac and Danny said at the same time.

When they got to the house, Stiles stared for a bit. He grew up in Beacon Hills, he knew the old house in the woods since forever. However, the sight of it now was something a bit out of this world. They remodeled everything, and the old, battered, safety hazard was now an incredibly beautiful mansion, painted a pale orange, filled with wooden accents and warm lights.

‘Wow’, Isaac whispered.

‘Yeah.’, Stiles agreed.

‘Everyone else is already here’, Danny pointed out.

Laura was the one who opened the door and she seemed very excited for Stiles’ muffins. She led them to the main room, which was a massive open space, where everybody was already seated on couches and chairs. The living room was connected with the kitchen, a big, 12 person bar separating them. Cora and Laura were still in there, pouring drinks. Stiles was a bit out of breath.

‘Are you rich?’, he blurted out in the general direction where Derek was standing.

‘Yes, why?’, he answered in his normal tone.

‘Because four years ago, Scott made a fire in the exact spot I’m staying and I used two cans of graffiti spray to write Shakespeare sonnets on the walls, and the kitchen wall wasn’t even there’.

‘Why did you write Shakespeare sonnets on the walls?’, Derek asks, frowning.

‘You don’t need a reason to write Shakespeare sonnets on the walls.’

‘Don’t get him started on Shakespeare, he won’t stop’, Lydia told Derek. Stiles rolled his eyes and ignored her.

‘The place looks amazing, guys. Really. Congratulations on it.’

‘It was all Laura’s doing.’ Derek shrugged. ‘I thought she went insane when she showed me pictures of this place before buying it. But now… She did wonders with it.’

Laura came back to the room, handing Stiles a glass of red wine. Cora was close behind. She hugged him and kissed his cheek. She had to stretch her neck, and he had to bend down a little. Allison and Lydia cooed. Audibly. Stiles rolled his eyes.

Then, Cora punched in him the shoulder. ‘I hate you.’

‘Oh, goddamn it. What did I do now?’

‘You made me read that book’, Cora whined.

‘I did no such thing. Never have I ever forced people to read anything. I simply suggested it, because I thought you would like it.’

Cora glared at him.

‘So you’re the reason I found my little sister crying in the middle of the kitchen floor at 3 in the morning’, Derek said.

Stiles looked at Cora. ‘Why were you on the kitchen floor?’

‘I went for a glass of water and I ... stayed there.’ She blushed.

Stiles laughed. ‘That’s understandable. If it makes you feel any better, my dad found me at 5 am in the middle of the back yard, sitting on a towel.’

‘What were you even reading?’, Laura asked. ‘Cora won’t tell us what that book is about.’

‘Well’, Stiles shrugged, ‘It’s by John Green, and it’s called _The Fault in our Stars…_ ’

‘And we don’t talk about it!’, Lydia and Allison said at the same time.

‘Never.’, Isaac continued. ‘We do not ever, under any circumstances, talk about that book. It’s like Fight Club, but worse. We talk about Fight Club, but we don’t talk about That Book.’

Laura and Derek shared a look. ‘You’re serious?’, she asked.

‘Yes’, they all responded.

‘Positive’, Cora added.

‘It’s a brilliant book, though. They all read it and they liked it.’, Stiles felt the need to explain.

‘I’m never reading anything you tell me to ever again.’, Cora said while throwing herself on a couch, next to Derek.

‘You sure about that? Are you reaaaaally sure about that? Because you loved the last 6 books I recommended. Even this one. And you didn’t like the 7th one because you saw the movie before, don’t even try to deny it.’

‘You’re misusing your authority over me. You’re making me read books you like so I can be more like you.’

‘Oh please’, Stiles scoffed. ‘What authority? I don’t have any authority over you. Only two hours a week, in class, and that doesn’t really count, does it? And I fully deny this accusation because, firstly, why the hell would I want you to be like me? Believe me when I tell you one of me on this planet is enough. And secondly, I didn’t even like half the books I made you read.’

‘That was a lie, Stiles.’

‘It was not. I hated Lovecraft.’

‘How could you hate Lovecraft?’, Derek asked with his voice a bit higher than usual.

‘The same way you hate Harry Potter.’

Derek rolled his eyes. ‘You did not just compare Lovecraft with Harry Potter.’

Stiles narrowed his eyes. ‘No, I didn’t. I compared my hate for Lovecraft with your hate for Harry Potter.’

‘I don’t _hate_ those god damn books. I just don’t like them!’

‘Derek doesn’t like them because I made him read them to me when I was a kid.’, Cora explained.

‘You still are a kid’, Stiles smiled.

‘When I was younger.’

‘Bravo, Cora. Using proper grammar, like a real girl.’, Stiles wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.

‘Oh, please, your grammar is appalling.’ Cora made a disgusted face.

‘That is literally impossible, considering I have went through several looooong years of collage and internships, and considering I’m an English teacher and an author.’

‘And how many grammar mistakes did Erica have to correct in your drafts?’

‘None. There were just typos.’

‘Suuuure there were’, Cora mocked.

‘Speaking of, how did you guys find out about _Teen Wolf_?’, Lydia asked, causing the Hales and Stiles to freeze.

‘Fate’, Cora smiled.

‘There’s no such thing as fate’, Allison giggled.

Derek frowned. Stiles rolled his eyes.

‘No, really, fate.’, Cora insisted. ‘I won this contest at school. One of the prizes was _Omega_. It sounded interesting, so I started reading it when I got home. Half way through, I stopped, ran to the bookstore and got two more copies. The next day, Laura and Derek did not move from the couch. We didn’t even talk that day. Sometimes, they’d gasp, or whimper, or scream a bit.’

‘They did not scream’, Stiles frowned.

‘Yeah, they did. Laura screamed when she read that Peter was the Alpha. And when Derek read the scene with …’ she frowned and took a deep breath before she continued. ‘The scene with Derek and Tom in Deaton’s office, Derek shot by the wolfsbane bullet, Tom willing to cut his arm, he just… he forgot he was standing on the couch, and somehow he ended with his back on the floor and with his legs over the coffee table, still reading.’

Stiles looked from Derek to Laura. She was smiling and he was blushing, rubbing circles with his thumb on his little sister’s leg.

‘When _Beta_ came out’, Cora continued, ‘Derek came back from work one day with three copies. We didn’t sleep that night. Once again, we all sat in the living room, reading and not saying anything, except for the usual screams or whimpers. I feel like I should say that we didn’t just read them because we shared the names, but we liked them. A lot. All of us.’

Stiles smiled and took a sip of his wine to calm his heart, which was, once again, betraying him, by beating too hard.

‘And when Derek bought _Alpha_ , we all took a sick day and spent a day and a night reading. I screamed when I read that Derek’s younger sister was called Cora and Laura fell of her chair. It was funny, after that, cause Laura and I started crying at about the same time, the scenes at the motel. We didn’t really stop crying until the end. And poor Derek, he kept bringing us bottles of water and tissues. He’d go to the bathroom or kitchen whenever we ran out, still reading the book. It was hilarious. At one point, we ran out of tissues. So, by the end of _Alpha,_ Laura and I were curled up together on the couch, wiping away our tears with a big towel, and Derek was on the floor, in fetal position, still reading.’

Stiles couldn’t stop smiling. Cora was smiling too, Laura was giggling in her hand and Derek was shaking his head.

‘I regret nothing!’, Laura said, raising her chin.

They all laughed.

‘Those were pretty good reactions, though.’ Lydia nodded. ‘We were much worse than that.’

‘Is that possible?’, Cora asked.

‘Well, think about it’, Allison argued. ‘Stiles didn’t tell us about writing them, in all the 7 years he worked on them. We read them before they got published, one after another. It took us a few weeks finish them, because we were all working, but …’ She shrugged.

‘For example’, Isaac continued, ‘Scott couldn’t read the scene where Tom got beat up at the end of _Beta_. Allison had to read it to him, and she was crying too. After I read the pool scene between Tom and Derek, I called Stiles screaming, telling him he’s a terrible person for not making them talk about it after they got saved. When Lydia read the part where we found out Andrew was the Kanima, she broke two glasses. And I don’t think it’s necessary to say that we all had a major mental breakdown at the motel. I think everybody paid Stiles a visit the next day and hugged the life out of him. When she finished, Erica called him in the middle of the night, telling him, and I am quoting, _I don’t know what to do with myself_.’

‘But my mom was the best.’, Scott laughed. ‘After she finished reading, she drove over to our apartment, picked us up, drove to the station to pick up Stiles’ Dad, took us to his apartment. She spent the next two hours cooking everything she could find, while making Stiles explain why he chose to do this or that.’

Everybody was looking at Stiles.

‘Guys, you should really stop now. Because I’m a socially awkward person, borderline socially anxious, and all this attention is going to make me have a panic attack.’

They all laughed, except Derek. He was frowning, looking at all his friends.

‘Let’s eat, then!’, Laura announced, making her way to the table.

⃝

They ate pizza and pasta, and drank wine and beer. Stiles sat at a corner of the bar, between Laura and Scott. Cora and Derek were sitting in front of him.

Dinner with ten people. These ten people. The conversations were... interesting, to say the least.

⃝

‘If you were the one to discover _Teen Wolf_ , why didn’t you go with Derek and Laura to the signing in New York?’, Scott asked.

Cora pouted. ‘I was sick. I had a fever and I could barely move.’

‘She hated us for weeks’, Derek added.

‘Well, you deserved that, cause you didn’t even get her a signed copy. You only got them for yourselves.’ Stiles pointed out.

‘I didn’t want your goddamn signature, I wanted to meet you.’, Cora frowned.

Stiles smiled. ‘You did meet me. Eventually. Regretting it yet?’

‘Obviously.’, she laughed.

⃝

‘I have to say, it’s really nice seeing Stiles interact with a student of his.’, Lydia started. ‘We never get to experience this.’

Cora’s eyes widened, but when she looked at Stiles, they both started laughing.

Laura spoke over them. ‘Cora keeps telling me that this… thing they have is not normal. That in class, they act completely differently, Stiles is extremely professional towards her and her colleagues. Yes, he’s the coolest teacher in that school and he understands them and gets them and makes English fun’, she used a mocking tone. ‘… but this are not his normal interactions with a student.’

Lydia raised an eyebrow.

‘We don’t understand it either’, Derek clarified. ‘We stopped trying to understand it a while ago.’

Cora stuck her tongue out at Derek. Stiles stuck his tongue out at Lydia.

⃝

 ‘Why is the monster called Newt?’, Stiles asked.

‘He is not a monster!’, Cora threw a napkin at him.

‘Sweetie, he tried to bite my ass off. Literally.’

‘No, for some reason, he tried to bite the label off the back pocket of your jeans.’, Cora explained.

‘So, my ass. You’re basically saying he tried to bite my ass.’, Stiles narrowed his eyes.

Cora glared. Scott laughed.

‘Newt is short for Newton’, Derek explained. ‘When we first got him, he ignored all of the toys we gave him in favor of rolling an apple around.’

‘That’s adorable’, Scott laughed.

⃝

‘You do realize you’re going to show me your room after dinner, right?’ Stiles asked Cora.

‘That sounds awfully kinky’, Laura teased. Cora, Stiles and Derek glared at her. She poured herself more wine.

‘No, I’m not showing you my room.’,

‘Whyyyyyyy?’, Stiles grinned.

‘Because you’ll do your whole wannabe-Sherlock routine and you’ll psycho-analyze me and I … No, that’s not gonna happen, nope, you’re not seeing my room!’

‘You can do that?’, Derek asked.

Stiles gave Derek a long look. He noticed the way his hair was perfectly styled, how his bangs must be cut just above his eyes, so he could see even with no product in his hair. How he had a few gray hairs, signs of stress, not old age. The long eyelashes. How his eyes were now gray, with just a tint of blue. How the t-shirt he was wearing was highlighting them. The scar just above his left eyebrow. The small bags under his eyes, sign that he has slept last night, but not as much as his body needed to. How the skin around certain parts of his nose was a bit discolored, meaning he wears glasses quite often. How he has freckles, on his chin, even though they are mostly hidden by the stubble. His manly hands. Manly, because they were fairly hairy, but beautiful. Clean nails, clean hair, color coordinated and flattering clothes, meaning he takes care of himself. Stiles was curious if that was a Derek thing, or a Laura-and-Cora induced thing.

He smiled. Derek raised an eyebrow.

‘Trust me, brother. You don’t want to know.’, Cora said, seriously.

Derek looked to the other people at the table, questioningly.

It was Danny than answered. ‘Above average IQ, long term visual memory, perfect eye-sight, ADD that makes his brain function a bit faster than normal, making easier to make speedy deduction, a highly amount of useless information, retained while spending hours and hours on end on Wikipedia, minor in Psychology.’ He smiled. ‘Yeah, he can do that.’

Derek turned to Stiles and raised an eyebrow. He answered as normally as he could.

‘If you have a cup of Passion Flower tea before bed, you might fall asleep faster. And, on the long run, it might even help with gray hairs. ’

‘How?’

‘It reduces stress and anxiety, and that isn’t aged induced hair discoloration.’

‘Passion Flower also amps up your sex drive’, Laura adds.

Everybody laughs at Derek’s expression. Except Cora, she hides her face in her hands.

**⃝**

‘How was Stiles in high school?’, an excited Cora asks Scott. The rest of his friends groan. Stiles says nothing.

Scott shrugs. ‘He’s always been Stiles. In school, he was just a bit more…’

‘Depressed?’, Stiles tries.

‘I was going to say energetic.’

‘Not psychotic?’

‘Maybe ecstatic.’

‘Definitely lunatic.’

‘Still brilliant.’

They both smile. Allison tells Cora that Stiles used to have a buzzcut.

Cora grins. ‘Awww, but all the girls in school and half the guys say your fluffy bed hair is the best and they just want to run their hands through it and sometimes, pull at it.’

Stiles drops his fork. The room falls silent.

After a few seconds, Jackson starts laughing. They all follow.

⃝

‘Come on Stiles, tell me what the test on Monday is about.’

‘No,’

‘Please?’

‘No.’

‘Pretty please?’

‘No.’

‘Pretty please and a box of kittens?’

‘I hate kittens.’

‘I hate you.’

‘I know.’

‘Did you just Han Solo me?’

‘You’ll ace the test. Easily.’

‘I love you.’

‘I know.’

‘Stop flirting with my sister!’, Laura yells.

‘Ok, should I flirt with you?’, Stiles winks.

‘I don’t know. Should you?’

‘Neah, you’re not my type.’

‘But what is your type?’, Cora throws in.

‘Manly.’, Stiles deadpans.

‘You owe me ten bucks’, Cora tells Laura.

Stiles rolls his eyes. Allison laughs until she cries.

⃝

‘So this is how siblings usually are?’, Stiles asks. ‘All of us are single children now.’

‘No, we’re utterly dysfunctional.’, Derek nods.

‘Borderline psychotic.’, Laura nods.

‘Yet incredibly awesome.’, Cora grins.

⃝

‘Isaac, tell me, please. How is my brother in court? We never get to see him in action.’, Laura asks.

‘Terrifying’, Isaac nods. ‘He wins trials with his eyebrows.’

Derek scoffs.

‘Yeah, that sounds pretty accurate.’, Laura nods.

⃝

‘How did you even end up being a teacher?’, Laura asks.

‘A series of unfortunate events.’, Stiles shrugs.

‘Was that your favorite book growing up?’, Derek smiles.

‘Yup. How did you end up being a lawyer?’

‘A titan’s curse.’, Derek shrugs.

Stiles grins.

⃝

‘Did I read any of your graphic novels?’, Stiles asks Laura.

‘You might have’, she teases.

Stiles thinks for a couple of seconds. ‘Considering how my life seems to be the definition of _ironic_ , I can assume you’ve written _The Moon Curse_ series.’

Derek’s jaw drops. Laura’s eyes twitch.

‘Indeed she has.’, Erica grins.

Stiles sighs. ‘I loved them in high school. They were my Bible. I still have them in my apartment. Till this day, it is the only piece of fiction involving werewolves I have ever read.’

Laura grins. ‘Except _Teen Wolf_ , of course.’

 ‘I hate you’, Stiles tells her, softly. ‘Why did you kill Becca?’

Laura shrugs. ‘She deserved to die.’

‘No, she didn’t.’

‘No, she didn’t.’, Derek agrees.

Laura smiles. ‘I still don’t understand why you care so much. She was a filler character, with 6 lines in total, and her death scene took 2 panels. Why is it important?’

‘Because she was important.’, Stiles starts.

‘Because she was the most important thing in his life.’, Derek continues.

‘Because her death lead to his demise.’, Stiles continues.

‘Because her death destroyed his entire life.’, Derek clarifies.

‘Because her death lead to him torturing himself for his entire life.’, Stiles continues.

‘Which lead to him ending his life in the most horrible way he could think of.’, Derek continues.

‘Because it hurt so fucking bad, and 12 years later, I am still not over it.’, Stiles concludes.

Derek nods.

‘You don’t get to talk about deaths that hurt, Stiles.’, Cora says, slowly.

‘True’, Derek agrees.

Stiles smiles.

⃝

‘Fuck that’, Cora says.

‘Language!’, Stiles and Derek say together.

Cora rolls her eyes. ‘You people do realize that I learnt all my curse words from you? And that you curse more than I do? And that I am 15, and I can learn how to drive a car, rent an apartment, have sex or take a trip around the country, and yet, you still have a problem with me saying _fuck_?’

Laura laughs. Derek goes extremely pale.

‘I would advise against having sex.’, Stiles says, seriously. All his friends stare at him. ‘No, really. The boys in your age group at that school are incredibly bad people to have sex with. They’re stupid and so cocky, they think they’re the best in existence, when in fact they’re just average sexually frustrated, unevolved dicks.’

Danny and Lydia laugh in their hands. Allison, Scott and Jackson roll their eyes. Danny and Laura seem interested in the conversation. Derek is still pale. He reaches for his water glass.

‘What if I was talking about sex with girls?’, Cora says in a completely normal voice. Derek chokes on his water. Laura, Lydia, Danny and Jackson are struggling to not laugh out loud.

Stiles narrows his eyes. ‘The girls are even dumber that the guys. None of them would even consider having sex with you, because they can’t see beyond their own pink painted nails.’

‘Could we please stop talking about my little sister’s sex life?’, Derek croaks.

‘It’s fine, Derek.’, Stiles smiles. ‘Cora is completely straight and she’s gonna wait for a couple of more years before having sex.’

Derek looks like he’s having a heart attack. The rest of the table is silent, except for Laura, who is still struggling to not laugh out loud.

‘How could you possibly know that?’, Cora rolls her eyes.

‘Because I have seen all of the Top 10 guys in school aggressively hit on you, and I have seen how good you handle them and blow them off. Also, I have seen you interact with Drew. The rest is just psych analysis.’

Cora looks genuinely surprised. Derek seems shocked. Laura is staring into the distance, not focusing on anything. Scott elbows Stiles, but he ignores it.

‘Drew’s a good call, though. From that lot, he seems like the nicest guy. He paints, did you know that? Get him to link you to his blog, because he does these amazing body studies, in bright colors and blurred lines, they’re really good. And, honestly, he’s pretty smart. And intuitive, and he has a tendency to help everyone around him, it’s quite endearing. And just the fact that he doesn’t care about all the social scales and standards that exist around him, well, he gets extra points from me.’

By the end of his rant, the entire table is looking at him. He shrugs and smiles at Cora.

‘But don’t listen to me, sweet cheeks. I’m just you slightly drunk English teacher.’

After a few moments, Danny talks in a small voice. ‘If you’d have been like this in high school, you would have saved us all from a lot of heartbreak.’,

‘The heart was made to be broken.’, Derek says. He’s staring at Stiles, eyes dark and brows frowned.

‘Oscar Wilde.’, Stiles smiles.

‘You’re impossible.’, Cora says.

‘He’s Stiles.’, Lydia says with a small smile.

‘Don’t ever change.’

Stiles narrows his eyes. ‘Cora, we’ve talked about this. You should never quote Supernatural at me, because I will break down and cry at your feet.’

‘CORA, LET’S GET THE MUFFINS’, Laura yells and drags her sister to the kitchen.

Derek shakes his head and points a finger at Stiles. He’s smiling now. ‘I don’t understand what you’re doing to her… but keep doing it.’

⃝

‘Jesus Christ, Stiles, these are amazing.’

‘Please, Laura, stop moaning and eat your muffin.’

⃝

‘Is Harris gay?’, Cora asks.

The entire table starts laughing, except the Hales.

Allison’s the one who manages to answer. ‘No, he is not. We’ve only seen him with a woman once, we were at a rave and she was barely legal.’

Cora stares. Derek frowns.

⃝

‘So, Stiles, I have a question.’, Derek says, leaning in slightly.

‘Shoot.’

‘Obviously you’re Tom, and Scott is Jeffrey. And I think I’ve figured out who the rest of your friends are in the books. But where did you get your inspiration for the Hales? Other friends of yours?’

Everybody stops talking. Stiles stares at the glass in his hand. He can hear his heart beat going up.

‘It’s not like that’, Isaac starts.

‘We’re not in _Teen Wolf_ ’, Scott continues.

‘It’s fiction, all the characters and settings are a fiction of Stiles’ imagination, they don’t exist in real life’, Erica explains.

Derek smiles. ‘You’re lying.’

Stiles manages to move his eyes up, looking at Derek. His heart is beating very fast, and Scott’s hand on his knee keeps him somewhat anchored.

‘It’s not like that, Derek. There is no relation between us and the characters in the books.’, Stiles tries.

‘I don’t believe you.’

‘Should I care?’, he asks, voice dripping venom.

Derek nods. ‘No, you shouldn’t care about my opinion, you should be interested in it, considering me and my family are in the books, too.’

Stiles just… stares. Derek stares back.

‘I’ve told you, Derek’, Laura says, ‘A writer never reveals his writing process.’

Stiles nods. ‘Do you care, Derek? That I wrote about you guys before I met you?’

Scott’s grip tightens. Stiles ignores it.

‘So, you do acknowledge that that is exactly what you did.’

‘It’s just a freaky coincidence. Why does it matter?’, Stiles shrugs.

‘Because it happened.’

Stiles hums. ‘How did your parents die?’

Derek blinks. Laura gasps.

‘I’ll tell you. If you tell us what’s real from _Teen Wolf_ and what’s not.’, Cora says, determined.

Stiles smiles. ‘Not my secrets to tell.’

 ‘You could.’, Allison says.

‘You should.’, Lydia agrees.

‘I’m going to.’, Isaac says, surprising everyone. Nobody objects.

His voice doesn’t flatter while he talks. He’s looking straight at Derek, speaking in a normal tone, fingers running on the rim of his wine glass.

‘Lydia was raped junior year of high school. She was in therapy for 2 years. Allison’s mother killed herself when Alli was 10. She was in therapy for 3 years. Danny had a hard time convincing his parents he was gay. He was in therapy for 2 years. Jackson found out he was adopted when he was 8. He was in therapy for 4 years. Scott’s father left when he was 9, after beating his wife into a coma. He was in therapy for 3 years. After my mother left and my brother died in combat, my father used to lock me in a freezer every other day. I was in therapy for 4 years. Erica is an epileptic. She was an outcast half her life. She was in therapy for 4 years. Stiles’ mother died of cancer when he was 12. He was in therapy for 7 years.’

Before anybody had any chance to say anything, Cora spoke in a cold, determined voice.

‘Our parents died when I was 8. We were all in the car, driving to get icecream, when a drunk blonde cut our path. She died too. Laura still has 2 metal rods in her knee, Derek has 27 scars on his body and I got off easy, just with 5 years of panic attacks.’

Nobody says anything for a few minutes. Gradually, they all look towards Stiles. He doesn’t know how he’s still breaking, but he manages to keep his voice steady.

‘We don’t do pity. It’s the worst human emotion in the world, and no matter how fucked up your life is, we will never pity you. We understand, we can relate, we don’t judge. We don’t care, unless you want us to. Why are we here?’ He turns towards Laura, because he can see how she’s the leader of the family.

But she doesn’t say anything, it’s Derek that speaks.

‘Why did you write _Teen Wolf_?’

Stiles shrugs. ‘I dreamt it.’

Derek raises an eyebrow.

‘The night before my high school graduation. I dreamt it. All of it. Every single scene, line, person, emotion. I dreamt it.’

‘That’s not possible’, Cora whispers.

‘I’m not lying.’, Stiles shrugs.

Laura sighs. ‘We know.’

‘Why are we here, Laura?’, Stiles insists.

‘We want to be part of your pack.’

Stiles raises an eyebrows. ‘We’re not werewolves.’

‘But you are a pack.’, Cora insist.

‘Yes, we are.’, Lydia says. Stiles looks at her. She smiles. Stiles is one step from insanity.

‘Did you…’, he bites his lip. ‘What happened? Did you come to Beacon Hills because we were here? Or did you come to Beacon Hills and found out we were here?’

‘The latter’.

Stiles looks up at Derek. He’s smiling. Stiles’ heart is close to shattering in millions of pieces.

‘Is this real life?’, Danny asks.

‘Yeaaaah.’, Stiles frowns. ‘Am I the Alpha?’, he asks the Universe.

‘Yes’, Cora, Derek, Lydia and Scott say.

‘Huh.’ Stiles shrugs and pours himself more wine. ‘Well then, dear Hales. Welcome to the pack. Leave your sanity at the door and learn the song of the broken, the beaten and the damned.’ He drinks a full glass of red wine in three large gulps.

Derek scoffs. ‘My Chemical Romance broke up a long time ago.’

Stiles starts laughing. His heart is beating like crazy, he can barely breath, he doesn’t understand why he hasn’t had a panic attack yet, he doesn’t understand why his friends opened up to the Hales so easily, he doesn’t understand what just happened and what he just agreed to, but all is well, because Derek _fucking_ Hale knows who My Chemical Romance were.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Cora, Stiles and Derek

Two months later, Stiles still doesn’t fully understand what happened. But he understands that things have changed.

The three Hales were part of their group now. They were all close friends, some stronger than others. Of course, factions existed in their group. Allison was with Scott, Lydia with Jackson. Erica worked with Laura, Derek worked with Lydia, Jackson and Danny. Isaac felt the safest with Scott, Stiles was Cora’s best friend. Isaac talked to Laura the most, Erica and Derek would have silent conversations with their eyebrows.

They all got together for pizza nights, they’d drink beer and watch movies. But, somehow, Derek, Laura and Cora managed to get together with the group, one-on-one, at least once, getting to know them better. Like how Lydia took Cora shopping for makeup, or how Isaac and Derek had coffee together after a long trial. Like how Laura and Allison had a Lord of the Rings marathon, or how Cora and Isaac jogged together. Like how Derek took Lydia out to dinner on her birthday, or how Laura and Jackson played pool. Like how Derek and Scott would take walks in the woods with Newt, or how Danny and Cora sometimes did yoga together. Like how Stiles would help Cora with her essays (never for English, of course), or how Stiles taught Laura how to make his mother’s famous lasagna.

Never Stiles and Derek. Never. They never found themselves alone. Stiles ignored it. He hated it, but he ignored it.

⃝

Stiles was in his apartment, Sunday night, ironing shirts for the next week. He was texting Erica, who was in New York, doing networking for Laura’s new graphic novel, together with, slightly surprisingly, Isaac.

Cora texted him. ‘please come over’.

He sped to the Hale house, worried, but it was Derek who opened the door. He seemed… fine.

‘First floor, second door on the right.’, he smiled.

‘What’s wrong?’, Stiles asked, taking his shoes off.

‘Anniversary of the car crash.’

Stiles’ jaw dropped. ‘I… What? How… I spoke to Laura today. They were sightseeing, she was laughing. I…’

Derek shrugged. When he looked up at Stiles, he smiled. His eyes were bright blue in the harsh light of the foyer. He was wearing black sweatpants, and an old, loose, grey shirt. He was barefoot and Stiles thought he’d never seen him look as beautiful as this.

‘As I said’, Derek put a hand on Stiles’ shoulder, ‘first floor, second door on the right.’

When he got there, Cora was on the bed. It was a big bed, with red sheets, in the left corner of the orange painted room. She was sitting up, leaning on the bed’s headboard, dressed in a hoodie Stiles forgot there a few weeks ago. She wasn’t crying, but when she looked up at Stiles, her eyes betrayed her. They were full of sadness and despair. Stiles rushed to her side, not bothering with shutting the door, and he sat next to her, putting a hand over her shoulder.

Cora leaned into him, resting her head on Stiles’ shoulder, taking his other hand in hers.

‘I’m ok.’, she whispered.

‘No, you’re not. But it is ok, it’s the way it’s supposed to be.’

‘It’s not. It’s wrong. Things like this shouldn’t happen. Ever.’

Stiles sighed. ‘No, sweetie, they shouldn’t. But they do. And we have to deal with them.’

‘How?’

‘I don’t know. I’ll tell you when I find out.’

They sat like that for a few minutes, and Cora started crying. He hugged her tightly, letting her melt into his side, still holding hands. It wasn’t weird. Yes, she was his student, yes, she was 10 years younger than him, but she was his friend. Cora needed a best friend and Stiles was willing to be that for her. He’d do anything for this girl, without a second thought. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

‘Does it stop hurting?’, Cora whispered, wiping tears from her eyes.

Stiles looked up and saw Derek. He was in the doorway, leaning on the frame, arms crossed over his chest, small smile on his lips. Stiles smiled back.

‘No, Cora. It’s cheesy and you’ve heard it hundredths of times before, but it doesn’t. It never stops hurting, you just learn to live with it.’

‘I don’t want to forget them.’, she whispered.

Derek’s smile fell and he rushed towards the bed. He sat at the end of it, leaning on the wall, taking Cora’s feet and putting them in his lap.

‘I’m not going to let that happen. Not me, not Laura. Not ever.’

The three of them sat like that for half an hour, until Cora fell asleep. Stiles and Derek slowly got out of the bed and out of the room, managing not to wake her up.

Stiles went straight for the door, when they got back to the ground floor of the house. He stopped after he put his shoes on. Derek was behind him, looking at the ground.

‘Derek’, Stiles put a hand on his shoulder. ‘How are _you_ today?’

He didn’t look up. ‘As you said, you learn how to manage.’

Stiles sighed and drove home.

⃝

When he opened the fridge, with the intention of eating some leftovers, Stiles’ phone beeped, signaling a text. It was from Derek.

Derek: Do you want to get a beer?

Stiles: now?

Derek: I know it’s late.

Stiles scoffed. It was barely 10pm. On one hand, he did have to go to school in the morning. But, on the other hand, he never got to spend time just with Derek. So, he took a risk.

Stiles: No. I’d rather go to the store, buy some beer and some snacks, drive over to your place, watch tv with you, and sleep on your couch.

He waited for 5 minutes, thinking Derek wouldn’t answer, or would just blow him off. But Derek did answer, a short and simple ‘ok’.

That night, they didn’t speak about anything important. Not about Derek’s parents, not about his sisters, not about their friends, not about their jobs. They just spent a couple of hours on the couch, drinking beer and eating junk food, watching Star Trek re-runs and laughing at how bad the show was.

They argued, they bantered, they laughed. When they both couldn’t keep their eyes open anymore, Derek gave Stiles a pillow and some blankets, thanking him and hugging him, before going to his bedroom.

Stiles fell asleep with a smile on his face and the ghosts of Derek’s hands on his back.

⃝

Stiles wakes up when Cora throws herself over his body, giggling. She sits on his ass, stretching her hands on the back of the couch, putting her feet on the coffee table.

He groans. ‘Get your fat ass off of me.’

‘I do not have a fat ass. My ass is gorgeous, thank you very much! Just because you’re as thin as a straw does not mean I have a fat ass.’

‘I am not that thin.’, Stiles scoffs.

‘If you’d go out without wearing shoes, the wind would pick you up.’

‘Oh, is that so?’, Stiles snorts. ‘A lot of people made the assumption that I’m just a fragile little boy. They regretted it.’

‘You know’, Cora says in a sweet voice, ‘you’re not that menacing with your ass in the air, barefoot and with drool on the corner of your mouth.’

‘Cora’, Derek sighs from the kitchen, Stiles assumes. ‘Be nice. Everybody hates it when you get bitchy in the morning.’

Stiles snorts. ‘Everybody hates it when you get bitchy at every time of the day.’, he mutters under his breath. Cora heard him, considering how she jumped a bit. Voice louder, Stiles grins. ‘Thank you, Derek, that’s very kind of you, but I can handle your evil little sister just well on my own.’

Derek snorted. Stiles took a deep breath and decided to put on a show. Firstly, he rolled to the outside part of the couch, causing Cora’s butt to slide between his body and the couch’s back. Stiles moved fast, turning and sitting up, putting one hand on the small of Cora’s back, and the other under her feet. He struggled for a bit, but she ended up sitting in his lap, both of them facing the kitchen. She left out a small gasp, but before she got to say anything, Stiles stood up, lifting Cora up as well. He quickly spun them around a full circle, and threw her on the couch. She landed with a thud, flat on her back.

Stiles loomed over her, putting a hand over her stomach, and one on her neck, not applying a lot of pressure, just enough to keep her in place. Cora didn’t even acknowledge it, she was so stunned, jaw dropped and eyes wide. Stiles looked over to the kitchen, seeing that Derek was supporting a similar expression. He turned towards the girl and grinned.

‘It’s not nice to assume things, sweetie. You might be wrong.’ He kissed the tip of her nose and made his way to the kitchen. Derek didn’t move yet, he was still frozen with his jaw dropped, eyes following Stiles. He stole Derek’s coffee from his hands, knowing they like to drink it the same way.

After Stiles sat on one of the chairs at the bar and took a few sips of his coffee, Derek started laughing. Hysterically. Cora soon followed. They laughed for a full minute, Derek had to wipe tears from his eyes.

Cora made her way to the bar and sat next to Stiles. ‘How the hell did you do that?’

‘You do know I’m a cop’s kid, right?’

‘Your father taught you that?’, Derek asked, incredulously.                                      

‘Not exactly that, no, but he started showing me stuff when I was like, 5. The more I grew up, the more they’d look like full on training sessions. I still trained by myself, even after I left home.’

‘That doesn’t explain how you were able to lift me up like that.’, Cora argued.

‘I have muscles, you know.’ Stiles rolled his eyes. Derek snorted.

‘No, I don’t know, I’ve never seen you naked.’

‘Well, of course I can’t really compare to your brother’, Stiles said, flailing his arms in Derek’s direction, ‘but I have been running since I was 10. I still run a couple of miles every day, and do some pushups and stuffs every other day. I hate going to the gym, though, so I’ll never be able to become the mountain that Derek is, but the lacrosse in high school helped? I guess. And the cross country in off-season, I even got a few medals. And, you know, self defense, combat and endurance training really seals the deal. I even taught a few classes in college, those were fun.’

Cora stared at him. Derek stared at him. Stiles shrugged and took a sip of his coffee.

Cora gently pulled up his shirt. Stiles sighed. ‘It’s too early for this shit.’, he muttered. But he did stand up and took a step backwards, taking his t-shirt off and doing a pirouette.

He wasn’t buffed, he knew he wasn’t. But his body was defined. He had muscles, visible abs and biceps. People just didn’t see them under all the t-shirts and shirts. Stiles knew he couldn’t compare his physique with Derek’s underwear model perfection, but he knew he looked good.

He put his pajama shirt back on and frowned at the two siblings, who were still staring at him. ‘Are you done raping me with your eyes or should I get my handcuffs?’

Cora laughed and lifted her sight towards Stiles’ face. Derek kept staring at his chest, and he managed to say a distressed ‘You have handcuffs?’.

Stiles laughed and laughed and laughed.

⃝

They had breakfast and prepared for the day. While they were still waiting for Cora, Stiles sat at the bar. Derek came behind him and put a hand on the back of Stiles’ neck.

‘Thank you.’, he whispered, leaning in. Stiles could feel Derek’s breath on his cheek.

‘Don’t. It was nothing. Well, it was my pleasure.’, Stiles smiled .

‘You mean a lot to her, you know. I don’t get how you two ended up like this, in such little time, but I’m glad you did. She needed a friend.’

Stiles put his hand over Derek’s, squeezing gently. ‘Thank you for saying that. Most people wouldn’t be ok with this, you know. I… I love your little sister to death, Derek. I’d do anything for her, without a second thought.’

‘I’m starting to see that.’

Cora came back and gave them an odd look, when the both jumped and put some distance between them. Stiles was sure he was blushing, but he tried acting as normal as possible.

‘Laura, Erica and Isaac are coming back later today.’, Cora smiled. ‘Pizza night here at 8, I’ve already e-mailed everyone.’

‘Yes, Master’, Stiles laughed.

He drove Cora to school, while Derek went in the opposite part of town, to his office. The drive was silent, but when Stiles parked the car half a block away from the school (they decided a while back it wouldn’t be good for either of them if people knew how good friends they actually were), he turned towards Cora and spoke softly.

‘Are you going to be ok today?’

She nodded and smiled.

‘That’s my girl.’, Stiles chuckled. ‘But still, if you don’t want to deal with school today, I’m sure Allison would gladly pick you up and drive you home, no questions asked.’

‘I know, but I don’t think I’m going to need it.’

‘Ok. Can I ask you a question?’

‘Sure.’, she raised an eyebrow.

‘Did it bother you that I spent the night?’

‘With Derek?’, she frowned.

Stiles blinked. ‘I wouldn’t put it like that, but… yeah?’

Cora bit her lip and looked out the window. ‘No, Stiles, it doesn’t bother me. You were there for me last night when I needed it, and you helped me. Thank you.’

‘That didn’t answer my question, and don’t ever thank me for that.’

She smiled. ‘The way I see it, in the past two months since we’ve all became friends, you and Derek were the only ones left behind. A bit.’

Stiles frowned. He knew she was talking about how everybody but them spent time alone, but he didn’t really think that anybody noticed it.

Cora smiled. ‘And I think that was a complete waste of time, because you two have a lot more in common than either of you think. And I was getting a bit frustrated with waiting for you dumbasses to get on with the program.’

Stiles blinked. ‘Did you plan it? Last night?’

‘No. I wish I would’ve. And I wish I would’ve done it sooner. I really did need you last night. And it seems my brother did too.’

Stiles leaned over, and gently kissed her forehead.

‘You, my darling, are an abomination.’

Cora frowned. ‘Why?’

Stiles smiled. ‘Because you’re perfect and so smart and mature, it sometimes hurts my soul.’

She laughed and got out of the car. ‘See you tonight, _darling_ ’, she mocked.

Stiles laughed and kept smiling all the way to school.

⃝

Two weeks later, things were different for Stiles.

He got to know Derek better. They would spend time together, jogging through the forest, watching tv or just talking for hours on end, about anything and everything. They’d text daily, little, unimportant things. It didn’t seem like the rest of their group noticed a difference, they acted the same when they were all together.

But when they’d be half asleep on Stiles’ couch, or talking on the phone at 3 am, Derek would talk about his parents, about how hard it was for him to finish college after the accident. About how his recovery took a lot more time that it should have, because he couldn’t stop feeling guilty about the accident, because he was the one who proposed to go get ice-cream that day. He’d talk about how his relationship with his sisters changed drastically and how he realizes that they depend on one another, they’re addicted to each other, and how he knows it’s wrong, but he wouldn’t change it for the world. He’d talk about how much he hated New York, because everybody wanted something from him and the pressure of his job was choking him. He talked about how happy he is now, in Beacon Hills, how grateful he is for meeting them and being part of their group.

Stiles would talk about his mother’s death, and how hard it was on him and his father. How he spent a few weeks in the psych ward after trying to kill himself. How Scott was the one who got him out, telling him that he and his father would die too if Stiles wouldn't be there. He’d talk about how high school was torture for them all, before they found each other. How they hated or despised each other at the beginning, and he’d talk about all the awful things they went through together, bringing them closer. He’d talk about how college was fun, but all the relationships he had didn’t mean anything and how he is addicted to Beacon Hills and his friends and his father.

Stiles was happy. But there was something at the back of his mind, something that scared him so much, he wasn’t able to talk to anybody about it.

He was scared, because Derek was Derek. Derek Hale, the lawyer, was Derek Hale the Alpha. For the people around them, it was all just a funny, freaky coincidence, but for Stiles it was so much more than that. Because when Stiles dreamt _Teen Wolf_ , there were a lot of scenes that didn’t end up in the novels. Most of them were between him and Derek. Somehow, they felt too personal to be included. At the end of the books, Tom was the one who knew Derek the most, who understood him completely and who always stood by his side. Stiles felt that, he felt how it was to fall in love with Alpha Derek, how it was for Derek to fall in love with him, how desperate and breathtaking their relationship ended up being. And that scared the living shit out of him, because lawyer Derek is exactly like Alpha Derek. Except the whole werewolf thing, they think the same, they like the same things, they react the same, they look the same, they act the same, they feel the same. Stiles feels them the same.

And Stiles is happy. He’s happy he’s found a friend in Derek, he cares about him, and about his sisters. And he knows the feeling is mutual. But Stiles is hurting, because he knows he’s falling in love. Not with a book character, not with a lawyer, not with a freaky coincidence, but with the perfect man for him.

He wouldn’t change that for the world.

⃝

It was a Monday evening, and Stiles was on his couch, curled up in three blankets. His head hurt, he had a fever, and he had to feel better by tomorrow, because he couldn’t call in sick at work, there were test that needed to be taken. He was sick and frustrated. Derek texted him.

Derek: Stiles, why is Drew in my kitchen?

Stiles: Drew?

Derek: My sister’s… colleague?

Stiles: Haha. Yes, colleague, friend, amigo, not yet boyfriend.

Derek: That doesn’t make me feel better. Why is he in my kitchen?

Stiles: I assume because they have to co-write a short story together?

Derek: Why am I not surprised this is your doing?

Stiles: It’s not. Not completely? I used a random number generator to pair them up.

Derek: If you tell me it was fate, I swear to god I will punch your liver.

Stiles: Chill. I was told that there’s no such thing as fate.

Stiles: HOW ARE THEY DOING, THOUGH?

Stiles: I know you’re spying on them.                            

Stiles: Just… don’t stay in the kitchen. Go in the living room. Please?

Derek: I am sitting in the living room. Playing chess with Laura. She looks at me and starts laughing.

Derek: I hate everything.

Stiles: HOW ARE THEY?

Derek: … … nice.

Stiles: What does that mean?

Derek: They’re smiling and giggling and they’re blushing every time they accidently touch each other.

Stiles: Ah, young love.

Derek: It’s sickening.

Derek: And adorable.

Derek: I don’t think their short story will be very good, though.

Stiles: Ha! It will be perfect, because this is Cora.

Derek: If you say so. I trust you not to favor her.

Stiles: You know I don’t.

Stiles: Anyway, what do you think about Drew?

Derek: I don’t like him.

Stiles: Of course you don’t, he’s trying to date your little sister. You’re supposed to hate him. But, looking at things from an objective point of view, what do you think about him?

Derek: … He’s polite.

Stiles: It cost you a hand to say that, didn’t it?

Derek: So what are you up to?

Stiles: Dying.

Derek: ?

Stiles: I’m sick. I have a fever and a headache and I have to get better to go to work tomorrow.

Derek: Can’t you take a day off?

Stiles: No, I have like 4 tests.

Derek: I’ll be there in 20.

Stiles: Ok?

Derek arrived in 15 minutes, with chicken soup and hot chocolate. Stiles felt awful, but he couldn’t stop smiling, watching Derek heat up the soup, mumbling about how he couldn’t find anything in ‘this damn kitchen’.

Stiles ate and took some more pills, sitting on the couch with Derek, watching The Fifth Element for the billionth time. He was sleepy, so he gladly took Derek’s advice and went to bed.

He dozed off quickly, but he became aware of Derek putting a wet towel on his forehead and a bottle of water on the nightstand. ‘Thanks, babe’, he mumbled, feeling warm and happy. Derek chuckled and took off his pants and shirt, going through Stiles’ drawers and putting on and old Beacon Hills Police Department t-shirt. He came to bed, on top of the covers, and Stiles froze, his heart exploding.

‘Why?’, he asked, not being able to think of something else.

‘Someone needs to take care of you.’, he answered softly, putting a hand over Stiles’ stomach, moving closer. They were so close, closer than ever before, and Stiles couldn’t breathe properly.

‘So warm’, he whispered.

‘Sleep, Stiles.’, Derek smiled.

And he did.

⃝

Stiles woke up tangled with Derek. He was hot and sweaty, Derek a warm presence by his side, but he felt so much better than the night before. Somehow, it wasn’t weird, waking up cuddling with Derek. They didn’t make it weird. They untangled from one another and went out with their morning, eating breakfast, taking turns showering. Derek used Stiles’ deodorant and a spare toothbrush, and he borrowed one of Stiles’ jumpers. They said their goodbyes and got into their cars, driving in two different directions. They texted that day, as usually, and everything was normal.

Except Stiles got that feeling again, like he was ignoring the best thing that could ever happen to him. He stopped thinking about it and went on with his day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise things will get interesting in the next chapter. After, you know, I get over this week's episode. Ugh.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm... Plot twist. Hope you'll enjoy it :)

Most times, pizza night would happen at the Hale house. Yes, it was a drive out of town, through the woods, but they all liked it there the most. The Hales had the biggest living room, the best tv and just the best looking house. Sometimes, some of them would even sleep over afterwards, the house having two usable spare bedrooms. Stiles doesn’t even remember how many times he fell asleep on one of the couches.

It was a Saturday, and Stiles was driving there. It was already dark outside, and he was going faster than usual, because he was running late, after falling asleep on the couch, watching tv with his father.

When the Hale house appeared in view, he felt his heart drop. He pushed on the brakes and stared for a few seconds, not breathing, not blinking, not thinking, not feeling anything.

All his friends were on the porch, holding onto one another and staring at the sight in front of them. They were frightened and scared. Derek was fighting some guy, while Cora and Laura stood on the sidelines, arms crossed, watching them. Just watching. Not screaming, not yelling for help, not helping their brother, not even a micro expression on their face. Nothing. None of them were doing anything, not even when the guy punched Derek in the stomach, hard enough to make him double over and fall on his knees.

Rage erupted inside of Stiles, and he moved completely guided by instinct. He got out of his car and ran towards the man. He wasn’t facing Stiles, didn’t even acknowledge his arrival, he was moving towards Derek, who was still on the ground. Stiles lifted his right leg and kicked the man hard, in the side, probably cracking his ribs. The man let out a strange sound, somewhere between a scream and a growl, but he didn’t bend over, like Stiles would have expected him to. Instead, he stood up straighter, letting his head fall back. Stiles took this opportunity to put his arm over the man’s neck, squeezing a bit with his elbow, anchoring it with his other hand. He plastered himself to the man’s back, making it difficult for the guy to kick him back. Stiles then curled his right leg over the guy’s, kicking him hard in the knee. The man stumbled forward, but Stiles still had him in a headlock. He kept him upwards for a few more seconds, choking him, but he eventually let go, causing the guy to fall, ungraciously, on the ground.

Derek quickly made his way to the guy, grabbing him and turning him over, back to the ground, keeping a hand on his throat. It was only then when Stiles noticed that there was something different with the guy.

Very different.

Utterly different.

Terrifyingly different.

Claws. And eyes flashing blue.

Stiles blinked. They were still there. So he wasn't hallucinating. When he realized what was happening, he got away from Derek and the guy, passing Laura and Cora, making his way towards the porch where the rest of his friends stood, shocked and scared. He didn’t stand near them, but at the base of the stairs, with his back towards the house, towards his friends. He stared at Laura.

She didn’t even glance at him. Laura kept her eyes on Derek and the guy. She walked towards them, slowly and with confidence, Cora following her, two steps behind. Laura put a hand on Derek’s shoulder, and he stepped back, releasing the hold he had on the guy.

He coughed and pushed himself up, using his elbows.

‘What do you want?’, Laura asked in a cold, vicious voice.

‘I didn’t know there was a pack here.’, the guy said.

Laura nodded. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Passing through. Going back to my pack in Oregon.’

‘Why did you attack, if you were just passing through? The woods? After nightfall?’, she asked, dripping sarcasm.

‘I was afraid. I apologize. My first reaction when I meet someone new is to defend myself. I don’t have the best history with our kind. That is why I am going back to my pack.’

Laura sighed. ‘If you’re not out of the woods by morning, we’ll find you. If you hurt anyone, we’ll find you. Easily. Is that clear?’

‘Yes.’

‘Go.’, Laura nodded.

The guy stood up and dusted himself off. He bowed his head towards Laura, taking a step back.

‘Who are you?’, he asked more confidently than before. ‘I could spread the word, that this territory is claimed.’

‘Hale.’

The guy’s eyes grew wider and he smiled. He nodded, and started walking backwards. ‘We knew your parents. They would be proud.’

Laura didn’t even flinch. ‘Thank you. Now leave.’

⃝

Cora, Laura and Derek were looking at him. Taking a glance at his friends on the porch, they were looking at him too. And Stiles… He wanted to laugh and cry and scream. He wanted to punch something, he wanted to run, he wanted explanations, he wanted excuses. But most of all, he wanted his heart to stop beating as fast as it was.

Derek was looking at him with guilt and anxiousness in his eyes. Cora was sad, so sad, he knew she was fighting back tears. And Laura looked cautious.

Stiles sighed loudly. Then, he rolled his eyes so hard his brain hurt. He waved his hands around, like the spazz that he still was. He even managed to hit himself a couple of times, and that was new, even for him.

In the end, he forced his hands to fall at his side and he looked at each of the Hales. He spoke evenly, surprising himself.

‘Flash your eyes.’

Laura nodded. Her eyes flashed red. Derek’s were pale blue. Cora’s were bright gold.

‘Shift’, Stiles looked into Laura’s eyes.

‘I don’t think…’

‘Please.’

Laura sighed. ‘Maybe it’s best if Cora did it.’

‘No’, Stiles shook his head. ‘I’ve seen Cora and Derek. I know how they look. I… You were cut in half. And a wolf. I want to see you.’

Laura’s jaw dropped. She recovered quickly, and nodded, while shifting to her beta form. Fangs, claws, bright red eyes, hair grew on her cheekbones, eyebrows disappeared. She was still beautiful, Stiles thought.

He heard people behind him gasp, mainly Allison and Lydia. Jackson said a highly incredulous ‘what the fuck?’.

Stiles chuckled. ‘Well that explains a lot.’

Cora let out a sob, that even she seemed surprised of. She started crying, and Stiles didn’t even think until he was at her side, hugging her. He was still smiling, and his voice was muffled by her hair.

‘Well, no, it explains some things and it absolutely does not explain some other things. In fact, I think it does bring up more things that need explaining. So, you know, could we all just hide the claws and fangs and go inside, and then maybe you guys can start explaining stuff, while we all drown ourselves in alcohol?’

‘We don’t have that much alcohol’, Derek said, sounding guilty.

Stiles glared at him, let go of Cora, took her hand and dragged her to the house.

**⃝**

They were all in the big living room of the Hale house, and everybody either had a glass of wine or a glass of vodka. Except Cora, of course. She was drinking her weird lemon beer.

Stiles was at one end of a couch, Cora glued to his side, and Derek next to her. The rest of his friends were all sitting close together on the other couch or on the floor. Laura was in the middle of the room, in front of them, pacing. She has been pacing since they got inside, 20 minutes ago. Stiles gets it, he understands it, he is a master of pacing himself. But she’s radiating negative feelings and if Stiles could sense them, then the werewolves probably could too. And judging by how Cora couldn’t seem to let go of Stiles, Laura needed to calm down.

‘Laura. You need to stop pacing, you’re making a hole in the floor. It’s a nice floor, I love the floor, I have a special connection with this floor, I wouldn’t want to see it get hurt.’

She puffed and rolled her eyes, but she did move a chair to the center of the room and she took a seat, still facing them. But she didn’t say anything.

‘So…’ Stiles tried.

‘Shut up, Stiles!’, Laura snapped. ‘I’m trying to figure out how to say this!’

‘Do you need some help? I am an author, you know.’

She glared. Stiles rolled his eyes.

‘Come on, Laura, you might want to start with the fact that you’re a werewolf. You might want to explain to us how you three came to be werewolves, if you’re a pack. Maybe tell us what you’re doing here, why did you come to Beacon Hills, but, most importantly, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that we need you to tell us how much of _Teen Wolf_ is real.’

‘I am going to tell you everything’, she nodded. ‘But I need you to shut up, Stiles.’

Derek giggled. Stiles took a sip of his vodka. He nodded and seated himself more comfortably, with a hand on the back of the couch. This way, Cora was cuddling with him, and Derek laid his head on his hand.

‘So, werewolves.’, Laura nodded.

‘Werewolves.’, Lydia agreed.

‘Werewolves?’, Danny was confused.

‘Werewolves!’, Scott was excited.

Laura smiled. She spoke softly, like explaining math to a first grader. She smiled and locked eyes with each of them.

‘Story wise, _Teen Wolf_ is bullshit. Yes, Derek, Cora and I are siblings, but none of the things that happened to us in the novels happened in real life. Our parents really were killed in a car crash, and they were our only family. Yes, the woman who caused it was a hunter, and yes, her name was Kate, but not Argent.’, she looked at Allison. ‘She had no connection to you or your family.’

Allison was shocked, to say the least, but she managed to catch her breath. ‘No, I know that. I… I never had a Kate in my family.’

‘Right.’, Laura nodded. ‘Beyond that, you’ve all probably figured out by now that we truly are like our characters in the books, most of the time. Just like you all are like your corresponding characters.’

‘Some more than others’, Derek muttered.

Laura glared at him and he didn’t say anything else, so she continued.

‘Lore wise, _Teen Wolf_ is fairly accurate. Just a few things are a bit off. Like how Omega wolves can be part of a pack, even if they are the lowest in ranks. Or how the healing doesn’t work like that.’

‘How does it work?’, Danny asked in a small voice.

‘Well, if I cut myself with a knife, it does heal quickly. If I burn my hand on the stove, it does heal quickly. If I get shot by a normal bullet, it will take 10-15 minutes to heal after I take it out. If it’s a wolfsbane bullet, I die when it reaches my heart. But beyond that, the greater the trauma, the longer the healing time is. Like…’, she frowned. ‘Derek wouldn’t have survived that fall in _Alpha_. And all the other injuries the wolves got, it would have taken a lot more time for them to heal. Like, when Cora and Boyd slashed Derek up in the boiler room, that would’ve taken at least 24h to heal. I mean…’, Laura sighed. ‘It’s hard to explain this particular specific, it’s easier seen than said, but bottom line… I really do have two metal rods in my knee, Derek really has scars, Cora really had a cold last week.’

‘What about shifting?’, Scott asked. ‘How do you do that?’                       

‘Like in the books’, Laura nodded. ‘We anchor ourselves to something, and we use that. We can shift a little bit, flash our eyes, our claws or our fangs. Or shift fully, in our beta form. Our mother could change into a wolf, and I inherited that ability when I became the Alpha.’

‘What about everything else?’, Isaac asked. ‘Smell, hearing?’

Laura nodded. ‘Those are spot on. Yes, we’re faster and stronger. Yes, we do have enhanced senses, we see better when our eyes flash, and we do hear and smell things a lot better.’ She smiled. ‘We can hear your heartbeats, tell when you’re lying or when you’re distressed, excited. We realize you’re heading this way the moment you take the last turn, two miles back on the road. If I listen carefully, I can hear you even before that. A combination of these things let us sense how you’re feeling, to a certain extent. It’s not an exact science, it’s different from person to person.’

‘That seems like an invasion of privacy.’, Lydia says.                                      

Derek and Laura laugh. Cora chuckles and buries her face into Stiles’ neck.

‘It kinda is.’, Laura winked.

‘But we don’t…’, Cora frowned. ‘We’ve been werewolves for all our life. We learned how to control it. We don’t use it unless it’s necessary. Most of the time, we push our senses down. Like…’, she sighed. ‘If I’m talking to you and my human side thinks something’s wrong, and you won’t tell me, I’ll let my wolf sense you, try to feel you, what you’re feeling.’

‘So you consider the wolf and human side to be two different things?’, Lydia frowned.

‘No, it’s not like that, they’re not two separate beings.’, Derek explained. ‘Think of a planet. Sometimes we only see a part of it, sometimes we see the other part of it, but sometimes we see a bit of both parts.’

‘That’s oddly poetic, Der.’, Laura chuckled. ‘I think you’ve had enough to drink.’

Derek scoffed.

‘Can you even get drunk?’, Isaac questioned.

‘Yes, but it takes a high amount of alcohol.’, Derek answered. He seemed sad. Stiles thought it was adorable.

‘Where does that leave me?’, Stiles asked.

Laura shrugged. ‘We have no idea.’

‘We stopped thinking about it a long time ago’, Cora agreed.

‘But how… How could I have known this? Dreamt it?’, Stiles insisted.

‘We don’t know, Stiles.’, Laura said softly. ‘We did some research, asked around, but nobody has ever heard of something like this. When we met in New York, we felt a connection towards you. But at that time, I thought it was best to ignore it. So we did. When we came to Beacon Hills, we didn’t know you were here. But when Cora came back from the first day of school…’, she laughed. ‘She feels it more than we do. This connection, whatever it is. It doesn’t… It doesn’t feel like pack feels like, but it’s something. We don’t know what, but it’s there. Over the months, it… grew a bit. Somewhere along the way, we started feeling all of you, too.’, she looked to everyone else. ‘It’s not as strong as it is with Stiles, but it is there.’

‘What does that mean?’, Allison frowned.

‘No idea.’, Laura smiled.

‘We stopped caring about what it means.’, Cora added.

‘We just care that it exists.’, Derek agrees.

Stiles can’t take it anymore. This is surreal and insane and impossible and since when did his life become a bad episode of Twilight Zone? He starts laughing. And he laughs, and laughs, and laughs, and somewhere along the way, Cora starts laughing too. Then, one by one, they all start laughing, even Derek.

Laura rolls her eyes and threatens to hose them down if they don’t stop.

‘We’re not the dogs in this room, Laura, that wouldn’t work, stop barking at us.’, Stiles spits out. Derek laughs even louder.

‘I’m your Alpha!’, Laura yells, even if Stiles can see that she’s smiling. ‘You don’t talk to me like that!’

Stiles stills, heart skipping a beat. He looks up at her, shock on his face. Once she realizes what she said, Laura crosses her hands over her chest and stares Stiles down.

‘Is that true? Are you my Alpha? Am I part of your pack?’, he asks in a small voice. Everybody stopped laughing and was looking at them with interest.

‘Yeah. I think so.’, she nodded.

‘Cool’, Stiles manages.

‘I don’t remember signing up for a werewolf pack’, Lydia waves her finger in Laura’s direction.

‘I know. I didn’t sign up for all you humans either. However, it happened. And it’s good. But I’m not going to force you. You can leave. Or you can stay, and not be part of this. You can leave and never come back, we can just hang out, you can ignore the fact that you’re in my pack’s territory. Whatever makes you happy.’

Everybody is silent for a few seconds, and Stiles notices how Cora had curled her fingers in his t-shirt. Derek is holding onto Cora’s other hand. Scott is smiling and Allison is biting her lip. Jackson is frowning, Danny is popping his fingers, Isaac has his mouth open. It’s Lydia who gets up the couch, flips a lock of hair over her shoulder and glares at Laura.

‘Sorry, sweetie. You’re stuck with us. We’re not leaving until we finish your alcohol. And we’ll come back when you buy some more.’ With that, she’s stalking towards the kitchen, in a blurry mess of ginger hair.

‘Let’s get drunk, then.’, Stiles smiles and follows her.

⃝

That night, they all got drunk. Except the werewolves. Derek was right when he said they didn’t have enough alcohol in the room, because he drank a bottle of wine by himself and he wasn’t even buzzed.

The humans asked the werewolves all sorts of questions, more details about werewolf lore and etiquette, about how it was to be a supernatural creature, even more details about their life before Beacon Hills. They all had fun, joking and laughing and not even once thinking that they’re in the same room with three killing machines.

When they started to get tired, Laura insisted that everybody slept over. So, at about 3am, all the spare bedrooms and the couches in the living room were occupied. And Stiles found himself in the kitchen, eating chips, wondering if sleeping in the back of his car was a good idea.

Derek and Cora came downstairs, after settling the couples up in the spare bedrooms. Stiles raised an eyebrow. Derek handed him a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and Cora kissed his cheek.

‘Come on, you’re sleeping with me tonight.’, she said.

Stiles narrowed his eyes. ‘You might want to rephrase that.’

Cora’s eyes grew wider, while Derek started laughing silently.

‘Oh, you know what I meant. Come on, I’m tired.’, Cora took Stiles’ hand and led him on.

After they changed and said goodnight to Derek and Laura, they got under the covers and Stiles hugged Cora tightly, her head resting on his shoulder, her hand on his stomach.

‘So. Any theories about this weird connection you have with me?’, Stiles decided to be blunt.

‘It sounds stupid when you say it like that.’

‘It sounds stupid any way you say it.’

Cora pouted. ‘I don’t know, Stiles. I don’t know what it is, I don’t know why it is, I don’t know how it is. I just know that I love you and that you love me and that Beacon Hills is perfect because you and everybody else is here and I just know you’re pack.’

‘Are you sure I love you?’, Stiles teased with a big smile on his face.

‘Yes.’

‘How can you be so sure?’

‘Tell me you don’t love me.’

‘I don’t love you.’

Cora giggled. ‘That was a lie.’

Stiles gaped at her. ‘Fucking werewolves!’, he pouted.

She started laughing harder.

‘It’s not funny.’

Cora didn’t stop laughing.

‘It’s really not funny, it’s frustrating for us mere mortals.’

She didn’t stop laughing.

‘I hate you, swear to god Cora, you’re insufferable.’

‘That was a lie’, said Derek when he came into the room, closing the door behind him.

‘You werewolves suck.’, Stiles yelled, resentful.

Cora and Derek laughed. He came at the edge of the bed, gently pushing his sister. ‘Scoot over’, he said.

‘Why?’, Cora whined, but she was already pushing Stiles towards the wall.

‘I left Danny in my room.’, Derek said, getting under the covers.

‘Why?’, she still whined.

‘Because his back was hurting on that couch, which you should have known, because you should have heard the conversation I had with him. But you were too focused on your undying love towards Stiles to hear anything that is happening around you.’

Cora didn’t say anything, she just hugged Stiles a bit harder.

‘Don’t be a dick, man.’, he frowned. ‘I’ll have you know the undying love is mutual.’

‘Oh, I know’, Derek sighed. ‘Laura and I heard it all.’

Stiles knew he was blushing, he wondered if the werewolves could tell.

‘You’re just jealous of our relationship’, he responded, smiling.

Derek sighed. ‘I’m just tired now. Can we sleep?’

‘I think Cora’s already asleep.’, Stiles smiled.                                

‘She is, her heartbeat’s steady’, Derek said, putting a hand over her stomach. His fingers touched Stiles’ side, but he didn’t mind. At all.

‘Good night, Stiles.’, Derek whispered.

‘Good night, Fido.’

Derek didn’t say anything, but the whole house heard Laura’s laugh. Damn, Stiles will have to get accustomed to the idea of not having private conversations with the Hales in the future. But for now, he was content knowing they were Laura's pack, sharing a bed with Cora and Derek, in a house full of friends.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another plot twist. Hope you'll like it.

Stiles woke up feeling hot and sweaty and with a massive headache. Clearly, he had a hangover. Thankfully, he wasn’t hard. His subconscious somehow managed to get over his massive crush on Derek, and the filthy wet dreams stopped when they became friends. Stiles was still falling in love with Derek, but at least his body listened to his mind, not his heart. And that was a great thing, considering the position he’s waking up in today.

Somehow, during the night, he changed positions with Cora. Thus, he was sleeping between her and Derek. Well, he was half on top of Derek, head on his chest, right leg between his. Derek was still sleeping on his back, right hand on Stiles’ ass. That never happened before, and they did share a bed a couple of times in the past months. Stiles sighed. He slowly turned his head to the left, seeing that Cora was on her side, back to the wall, facing them. One of her hands was in Derek’s hair, and the other on Stiles’ back.

He knew he was blushing. Furiously. And his heart was beating like crazy. He was grateful the sound of it didn’t seem to be waking the werewolves. He started to untangle himself from the mess of Hale limbs, slowly dragging his body towards their feet, because there was no way he was able to climb over Derek without waking him up. Cora made a noise of discontent, but she took her hand off Stiles' back, whithout waking up. Stiles was halfway through Derek’s body, head above his stomach, Derek’s hand on his lower back. Stiles could feel the exact moment Derek woke up, because he stopped breathing and his whole body got tense.

Stiles bit his lip and looked up. Derek was watching him with sleepy, heavy eyes. There was some confusion in them, and something that looked closely to bewilderment. Stiles smiled and got out of bed fast, careful not to touch Derek’s body too much.

‘It’s early. Sleep.’, he whispered, while grabbing his phone and walking out of the room. ‘Thank god Cora didn’t see that’, he thought.

⃝

When he got downstairs, Isaac was already waking up. It was only 8 am, but they were both very used to early mornings, because of their jobs. Stiles started a pot of coffee and toasted a few pieces of bread. They both ate in silence, because neither could actually function like proper adults before having a cup of coffee. Stiles was trying not to think about Derek. He wasn’t succeeding.

Thankfully, his phone wrung.

‘Why is Dad calling me at 8 am on a Sunday?’, he frowned.               

‘Maybe you could answer it and see.’, Isaac rolled his eyes.

‘You’re a jerk, so I’m putting it on speaker.’ Stiles glared at him, answering the phone.

‘Morning, Dad.’

‘Are you at the Hale house?’, his father said in an even voice, the one Stiles recognized as his cop voice.

‘Yes. Why?’

‘Do you know if they have any family left?’

‘What’s going on, Dad?’

‘Stiles, answer the question.’

He frowned. ‘It’s just the three of them. Why?’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, I’m positive. It was them and their parents and they died in a car crash eight-something years ago. Why? What happened?’, Stiles was getting frustrated. He hated when his dad did this to him, questioning him without telling him the motive beforehand. 

The Sheriff sighed. ‘We arrested someone last night. Public disturbance, the guy was drunk as hell and well, he was utterly depressed, considering he spent half the night crying in the cell. ‘

‘And?’, Stiles asked, annoyed.

‘I would have let him go today, after he sobered up, but he said his name was Peter Hale and that he had family in this town, but he can’t track them down.’

‘Peter?’, Stiles whispered. His heart skipped a beat. He heard something crash upstairs. Seconds later, Derek and Laura were rushing down the stairs, fighting to take the phone from Stiles. Laura flashed her eyes and Derek took a step back, sitting on a chair near Isaac.

‘Hey, Sheriff. You’re on speaker, Derek’s here too. We heard everything.’

‘Morning, Laura. I am sorry to disturb you with this, but I thought I should check.’

‘No problem, sir.’, she frowned. ‘We don’t have any family left, we don’t even know anyone called Peter. Are you sure… I mean, maybe he’s talking about someone else, not about us.’

‘I thought it was a coincidence too, at first. But when he sobered up, he told me he was looking for three siblings, called Laura, Cora and Derek, and that he knew they moved here from New York.’

‘Shit.’, Derek said.

‘Yeah.’, the Sheriff sighed. ‘So, I asked him: if you’re his family, how come he doesn’t know where you live? He said he’s never met you, but that he’s your uncle.’

‘We don’t have an uncle.’, Laura stated, frustrated.

‘I know that’, the Sheriff said. ‘He says he’s your father’s twin. That he left him and their parents when he was 16, after getting in a huge argument with them. He tried to contact his brother a year ago, and found out he was dead. He’s been looking for you ever since.’

Laura didn’t say anything. She looked completely lost.

‘What the fuck?’, Derek whispered.

‘I don’t know, kids.’, the Sheriff spoke softly. ‘What I do know is that his name is Peter Hale and that his story checks out. I did a background check. He’s a photographer and last night was the first time he ever had trouble with the police, but I didn’t find any records of him before he turned 17. His name is Peter and that’s weird, as weird as your names being what they are, so there’s that. Also’, he sighed. ‘He says they were twins. They should look alike and you should know if you see him.’

The two siblings looked at each other. Cora made her way down the stairs, and judging by the look on her face and how she immediately went to hug Derek, she also heard everything. Laura’s eyes flashed and she nodded.

‘We’ll be there in half an hour, Sheriff, if that’s ok.’

‘Of course. I’ll be here.’

They hung up.

Laura looked to Stiles and shook her head. ‘Having you in our lives makes everything 120% more interesting.’

Stiles softened his look, going from angry and confused to sad and guilty. Laura shook her head again and put a hand on his neck. ‘You are so coming with us, because this is all your fault, somehow.’

‘It’s not, Laura, I don’t-‘

‘I don’t know how, but it is. So you’re gonna suffer the consequences. Plus, it’s your dad.’

Before he got to say anything, Isaac got up. ‘I’ll go wake everyone.’

‘No, don’t.’, Laura put a gentle hand on his forearm. ‘Let them sleep, they’re all gonna be hangover dead to the world when they wake up. We’ll leave you a spare key, ok? Help yourselves to breakfast, shower, chill, and don’t worry about it, ok?’

‘Ok.’, Isaac smiled and gave her a quick hug, which she seemed to melt into.

Interesting development, Stiles thought. But he didn’t have the time to think about it now.

⃝

When they get to the station, they’re greeted by Alicia, one of his dad’s deputies. She’s knows Stiles since he was 12, so it’s normal when she ruffles his hair and tells him to eat something, because he’s lost weight.

He rolls his eyes and ignores the odd look Derek is giving him.

‘I appreciate your concern, really, I do. I’ll be sure to ignore your advice and keep living my life in sin and tragedy. Now, would you be so kind to tell us where my dad and the drunk guy are?’

She smiles fondly and points towards the Sheriff’s office.

Stiles leads them through the station and opens the door to his dad’s office, letting Laura and Derek go in first, followed by Cora.

Laura gasps and takes Derek’s hand. Cora turns around and buries her face into Stiles’ neck. He puts his hands around her and leads her out of the room, sharing a look of despair with his father, before closing the door. Because the man sitting in the Sheriff’s office looks exactly like the Peter Hale Stiles remembers from his dream.

⃝

Stiles guides Cora to the break room, ignoring the odd looks they get from officers left and right. When they go in, two men he’s only seen once nod at him and leave the room, closing the door behind them.  Stiles hands Cora a bottle of water and a pack of tissues, sitting on the chair next to her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. After she calms down, she looks at Stiles.

‘He looks like him.’, she says.

‘Like who?’

‘Like dad, Stiles.’, she sounds defeated.

Stiles sighs and hugs her. ‘He looks like the Peter I saw, too.’

Cora laughs. It still sounds a bit broken. ‘I’m done crying, we should be there with Laura and Derek.’

‘Ok’, Stiles nods and smiles at her determination. But before they go out of the room, he asks her, voice just a whisper.

‘Is he like you?’

Cora looks at him sideways. Stiles glances at the security camera just above their heads. She nods and opens the door. ‘Yeah, he’s family.’

⃝

Half an hour later, Stiles is leaning onto the side of his car, Cora right beside him, Derek and Laura to his left, and Peter Hale in front of him.

Peter Hale, who is … for lack of a better word, checking him out. His hands are crossed over his chest, and that reminds Stiles so much of Laura and Derek, it hurts. Peter’s eyes are narrowed and are slowly moving over to Stiles’ body, head to tows and back up.

Stiles raises an eyebrow. Peter does the same. Stiles rolls his eyes.

‘Are you done?’, he asks, exasperated, running a hand through his hair.

‘For now’, Peter nods.

‘So, you’re as big of a jerk as I remember.’

Peter’s eyes widen. ‘We haven’t met before.’

Stiles chuckles. ‘ _You_ haven’t met me.’

‘Are you saying what I think you’re saying?’, Derek asks.

‘Yup.’

‘I was right, this is all your fault.’, Lara sighs.

‘Yup.’

Cora kisses his cheek. ‘Don’t listen to them.’

Peter raises an eyebrow.

Stiles smiles at him. ‘They’ll explain when they’ll think it’s appropriate. I’ll leave you to it, I’m sure you have a lot to discuss. I’ll talk to you later’, he looks at Laura and Derek. ‘And I’ll see you tomorrow’, he winks at Cora, ‘You still have to hand in your essay, family drama aside.’

‘Awh, really?’, she whines.

‘Yes, really. I know you’ve got it done already, just be sure not to forget it at home like last time!’

‘Are you her teacher?’, Peter asks, incuriously.

Stiles winks at him. ‘When they think it’s appropriate.’

Peter blinks. ‘But I want to know now.’, he smiles mischievously.

But before he can answer, Derek surprises everyone, by saying ‘Is it a rite of passage for every Hale to flirt with Stiles?’

Laura and Cora laugh, while Peter frowns. Thankfully, he doesn’t say anything.

Stiles grins and winks at Derek’s upset expression, running his hand over the back of his neck, through his hair. ‘Yes, yes it totally is a rite of passage, which you haven’t passed yet. You better get on with that. But, later, because now I must go home and get rid of this hangover so I can function like a proper person tomorrow. See you guys later, it’s been interesting meeting you, Peter.’

‘Who even says that?’, Peter rolls his eyes.

Stiles winks, laughs some more at Derek’s sad face, gets into his car and drives home.

⃝

Later that evening, Cora, Laura and Derek come by Stiles’ apartment, bringing pizza and hot chocolate. They all sit in the living room and Stiles listens to his friends’ story.

‘He really is Peter Hale, he really is our uncle, and he really is a werewolf.’, Derek starts, ever so bluntly.

Laura sighs. ‘He left home when he was 16. His parents… Dad told us a bit about his family, so we know Peter’s not lying.’

‘Plus, you can hear is heartbeat.’, Stiles interrupts.

‘There are ways to go around that’, Cora smiles.

‘But he wasn’t lying.’, Laura continues. ‘Their parents were oldschool. Really, really, oldschool. They were both born werewolves and descendents of strong packs. They wanted their children to follow their footsteps. Dad was lucky, he fell in love with mom who was also a born werewolf, so he had their blessing, but Peter fell in love with an Omega. She was bit by a rogue Alpha, and she never found a pack. They really were in love, but our grandparents didn’t want to hear of it.’

‘Let me guess’, Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘What could a 16 year old child know about love?’

Derek smiled. ‘It’s not like that for us. We’re more in control of our emotions than a human being, it’s easier, there’s not so much doubt involved.’

‘That’s… nice.’, was all Stiles managed to say.

‘Our grandparents’, Laura continued, ‘didn’t approve because she wasn’t a born wolf, and she wasn’t part of a good pack. It didn’t matter to them that they were in love. So Peter left. With her. Basically, his parents exiled him, he’s been an Omega ever since.’

‘What about your dad?’, Stiles questioned. ‘Did he agree with his parents? I mean, he didn’t even tell you about Peter’s existence.’

‘He didn’t agree with them.’, Laura was getting a bit upset. ‘He didn’t care about things like that, not him nor mom, it didn’t matter to them. They never once said anything about me dating guys who didn’t even know about us, or about Derek’s homosexuality.’

Stiles’ jaw dropped, Derek never told him he was gay. He looked over at Derek, who was blushing. Stiles slapped him on the back of the neck.

‘I’m not even gonna say it, dumblass. Go on, Laura.’

She threw them an odd look, but continued. ‘Dad didn’t care about those things back then, either. So they made a pact. Peter forgave dad for not taking his side in front of their parents, and dad would take Peter in his pack if he ever came back.’

‘Why did he come back?’, Stiles asked.

‘She died a year ago.’, Laura sighed.

Stiles frowned. ‘Hunters?’                                     

‘No. Cancer.’, Derek said in a small voice.

‘Huh’, Stiles brushed it off quickly. ‘So lycanthropy doesn’t fix it. Well that sucks.’

‘This is all your fault’, Laura says, pointing a finger at him.

‘Personality wise, he seems to be like the Peter in the books.’, Derek says, ignoring his sister.

‘Sassy and bitchy doesn’t even begin to describe it’, Cora adds. ‘But he’s funny.’

‘And it’s your fault’, Laura’s still looking at him.

Stiles shrugs. ‘I don’t know, but I’m done.’

She frowned.

‘I’m done thinking about it. There is no explanation for why this is happening to me, to us. So, really, why should we bother thinking about it, when we clearly won’t ever reach a conclusion?’

‘You’re the most curious and paranoid person I know. Are you seriously going to stop thinking about it?’, Derek raised an eyebrow.

Stiles nodded. ‘Yup.’

‘What if it means something?’, Derek asks slowly.

‘Like what?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Well I don’t care what it means. I just care that we’ve found you guys and I am done thinking about it. It happened, it’s happening, fuck it. I’ll go insane if I analyze it more. I’m done.’

‘Promise?’, Cora smiles.

‘Yup. Is Peter pack?’

Laura blinks. ‘Not yet.’

Stiles smiles. ‘Good.’

⃝

Laura decided it was for the best that the rest of the pack didn’t meet Peter right away. She told them the story, but avoided any interaction between them.

However, one week after meeting him, Stiles found himself in the Hale house, at dinner with the Hales. All of them. Laura talked to him beforehand, told him that she trusts Peter, but not completely. He is family, and that he’ll eventually be a part of her pack. But it will take some time, because they have to recover the lost years, and he was still grieving for his lost brother and wife. But Laura seemed to like him, she found him annoying, but amusing. Cora just found him amusing. Derek just found him annoying.

Stiles had a feeling this will be a long dinner.

He was right.

⃝

‘Stiles, you still owe me an explanation’, Peter says half way through dinner. They’re seated opposite of each other, Laura and Derek on the same side with their uncle, Cora sitting next to Stiles.

‘Do I?’

‘Yes. The day we first met, you didn’t tell me something I wanted to know.’

‘Ah.’, Stiles nods. ‘Yeah, no, I told you that they’ll tell you when _they_ think it’s appropriate.’

Peter narrows his eyes. ‘It’s appropriate now. Tell me.’

Stiles isn’t fazed by the small growl that escapes the older man’s throat. He raises an eyebrow.

Peter blinks. ‘You’re not afraid.’

‘Of course not.’, he answers in the sweetest tone he can manage. ’You’re just one werewolf. The other three in the room would put you down before you’d get to touch a single hair on my head.’

Cora bumps their knees together, and when Stiles looks over, she’s biting her lip, trying not to laugh out loud.

‘Why is that?’, Peter asks, curiously.

‘We have no idea’, Cora laughs.

Her uncle frowns. ‘Maybe you should start from the beginning.’

Stiles whines and rests his head on Cora’s shoulder. ‘I don’t wanna tell the story, I’m bored of the story.’

She puts a hand over his shoulder and starts talking. Cora tells Peter everything about the dream, about the book, about how they’ve met, about how he’s her teacher, about the rest of their friends, about the night they found out about werewolves. She even explained their connection with Stiles, how they can feel him and how Cora’s bond is stronger.

After she finishes, Peter stares at Stiles for a full minute, without saying anything. He stares back.

Derek breaks the silence. ‘Do you know anything about why this is happening? We’ve asked around and looked through the books we still have from our parents, but we didn’t find anything.’

Peter shakes his head. He leans forward, towards Stiles and whispers.

‘What are you?’

Everybody gets a little shocked by that questions, Stiles included. But he gets it together quickly and frowns at Peter.

‘Don’t I smell human?’

‘Yes you do. But you’re not. You can’t be. A human being couldn’t possibly have done what you did.’

‘Interesting theory’, Stiles nodded. ‘However, I don’t fucking care why or how it happened. At this point in the life of _Teen Wolf_ , I just care that I’ve found some amazing friends and that I am completely in love with your family.’

‘Awwwh’, Laura and Cora smile at the same time, while Derek rolls his eyes and mutter something that sounds like ‘overly emotional bastards’.

Peter straightens his posture. ‘Your heartbeat was steady.’

‘Obviously.’, Stiles rolls his eyes.

‘I want to read _Teen Wolf_.’

Derek starts laughing, while Cora and Laura giggle. Stiles smiles, but he’s nervous.

‘You might not like them that much.’

Derek claps his uncle on the back. ‘We’ll lend them to you.’

Peter looks at his nephew. ‘I’ll buy the ebooks, what century are you living in?’

Stiles laughs, while Derek looks at him and raises an eyebrow, questioning his opinion on the matter.

‘Hey, that’s fine by me’, Stiles says, ‘I get paid when you buy an ebook. But me, I’m more of a paperback kind of guy. And even though I do own a Kindle, because I don’t have a lot of storage space in my apartment, you can’t really replace the smell of a new book.’

‘Exactly’, Derek smiles.

‘You know, Stiles’, Cora smiles, ‘you can always keep your books here. We have lots of room.’ She bats her eyelashes in his direction and smiles sweetly.

‘I see right through you, Cora. You are not touching my books. You won’t get cooties on my babies!’

They all laugh.

⃝

All in all, Stiles kind of likes Peter. He’s annoying, sarcastic, bitchy, flirty, but smart and funny. He sees Stiles as a challenge, for some reason. And Stiles thinks that’s going to be hilarious to watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I have a question. What do you prefer: small chapters uploaded every other day, or longer chapters uploaded several days apart?  
> Also. Thank you, you taking time to read and give me feedback on this means the world. You're awesome! Have a cookie :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prom and the start of summer.

Stiles doesn’t see Peter in the week that followed. He doesn’t see any of the Hales, except Cora, in class. They don’t even meet with their friends that weekend, because Saturday is prom night. Of course, Stiles is there. Thomas insisted he chaperoned, because he was young and still remembered what prom was like. All his students loved him, and the principal actually thought Stiles would be able to spot if any of them were doing something nefarious. Stiles agreed, and of course he’ll keep an eye out, but he promised himself (and Scott) that he won’t turn into a Hitler type of teacher, at prom.

So, Saturday night, Stiles was in the high school gym, surrounded by teenagers dressed to impressed, listening to shitty pop songs, regretting the lack of alcohol in his drink. Girls and boys kept making his way towards him, winking and telling him he looked good. Stiles was ready to barf. He wasn’t even wearing a proper suit! He had simple, black pants that were a bit too tight for his liking, a simple black shirt, not buttoned up all the way, and a pair of red chucks. His hair was like it normally was, his glasses were his normal ones, he wasn’t even wearing cologne.

‘Teenagers these days, ugh’, he muttered under his breath, taking another swing of his juicy drink.

He felt a shiver on the back of his neck, and his eyes snapped towards the gym door. Cora was just coming through, Drew at her side. She looked stunning, Stiles’ heart caught in his throat. She wasn’t wearing any of the shiny glittery things the other girls had on. Cora had a simple white dress, fitted over her torso, large and vaporous over her things. The dress went down over her knees, and she paired it with a bright yellow pair of high heels and a white clutch. Her hair was pinned up and her bright pink lipstick made her look incredibly... refreshed. She was smiling and holding Drew’s hand. He was wearing a yellow bow tie with his black suit, and a smile that was incredibly fond. They both looked amazing, and Cora looked like a goddess.

Their eyes met and Stiles let out a breath. ‘You’re gorgeous’, he said, knowing she could hear her. Cora smiled and put her hand on her chest, right above her heart. Stiles laughed, and watched as Drew pulled her towards the dance floor.

He kept watching them, watching her, and Stiles felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. Stiles loved Cora, he knew that, but he didn’t know how he got to feel the way he did, how they managed to get to this point. He wanted to protect her and he wanted to make sure she was always happy. He couldn’t imagine his life without Cora, Derek or Laura in it. And that scared him a bit, because not even a year has passed since they’ve properly met, and Stiles was already as addicted to the Hales as he was to the friends he knew for over a decade. He wouldn’t change it for the world, but what scared him the most was that he didn’t care how or why they’ve gotten to this point. He promised Cora he’d stop thinking about the dream and how their relationship developed, but he couldn’t stop fearing that he was missing something important.

But right now, sitting in the old gym hall, drinking a horrible punch, watching Cora laugh and dance with Drew, he didn’t care about anything else, just about the sweet smile that was glued on her face.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump, and when he turned around and saw Derek, he jumped again. Because Derek looked stunning. He was wearing dark gray suit pants, a light blue button down and a matching grey vest.

‘Jesus, you look amazing.’ Stiles blushed as the words came out of his mouth, but Derek smiled and made his way to stand next to Stiles.

‘Today has been the most awkward day of my life’, he said, watching his sister dance with her date. ‘And the party just started.’

‘Why was it awkward? What happed? Also, why are you here?’, Stiles moved his hands around, somehow managing not to spill his drink.

‘Laura volunteered for chaperoning a few weeks ago. But… something came up, so I’m here instead.’

‘Something?’

Derek smiled. ‘Let me start at the beginning. I woke up this morning, well it was almost noon, feeling incredibly rested. I go downstairs, eat something and drink a cup of coffee. Then, Lydia, Allison and Erica barge in the house, and Laura and Cora are downstairs in seconds. And, mind you, I still wasn’t fully awake. So when I heard words like ‘hair dye’, ‘nailpolish’ and ‘wax’, I went and took a shower. It was a long shower. When I came back down, my living room looked like a spa, towels and… things everywhere, Laura had hair dye in her hair, Cora was in her underwear on a chair and Lydia was waxing her legs, Allison was painting Laura’s nails, and Erica was straitening Cora’s hair.’

Stiles was laughing so hard, his tummy hurt. Derek kept talking.

‘I asked them why Hell has moved into the living room, and Lydia started explaining how it was the biggest room and things about women bonding and making my sisters unforgettable for the night and I just…’

He sighed. Dramatically. Stiles was still laughing. Derek blushed and continued.

‘And I just spent the rest of the day in the kitchen, taking pictures and cooking them lunch and dinner, and thanking the gods I wasn’t born with lady parts.’

Derek stopped talking for a few seconds, letting Stiles take a few big gulps of air, calming himself down.

‘You love them, don’t you?’, he teased.

‘Yes.’, Derek sighs. ‘I never want to see any of that ever again, though. It felt nice watching them bond, but… I will never be able to get the smell of hair dye and hot wax out of my mind.’

Stiles put a comforting hand on Derek’s shoulder. ‘I know, man. Believe me, I know. Before our first prom, we rented this huge hotel suit. We were all there when Lydia and Allison did their… thing. We all have been scarred for life, because those girls have no shame! I get that Scott and Jackson weren’t fazed, and me and Danny, yeah we’re gay and there’s a stereotype there, but let me tell you, Isaac, Danny and I weren’t able to look at the girls in a bikini for weeks.’

Derek nodded seriously.

‘They looked gorgeous, though’, Stiles smiled.

‘Yeah, Cora and Laura looked amazing at the end of it all. I haven’t seen them look this good… ever.’

‘And, let me guess, it wasn’t even that they looked more beautiful than before, because they’re both drop dead gorgeous, but because they felt more beautiful, they looked even more gorgeous.’

Derek sighed. ‘Exactly. That’s exactly it. I couldn’t even be mad that all the towels in the house needed washing, or that the couch has weird stains, or that the living room is going to smell like chemicals for days now.’

Stiles smiles and looks over at Cora. ‘I think it was worth it, though. She’s happy.’

‘Yeah. Yeah she is. Laura too, I would assume.’

‘Where is Laura, though. You still haven’t told me.’, Stiles narrowed his eyes.

‘Ah, yes, let me continue. After they were all done, and after we took about a bizilion pictures of both of them, came the even more awkward part of the evening. Drew came to pick up Cora.’

Stiles laughed. ‘Well, you didn’t kill him, obviously. Did you scare him and scar him for life?’

Derek looked defeated. ‘I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it. The way Cora lighted up when he saw him, and the way her heart was beating faster. And the way he just stopped breathing for a few seconds, until Laura introduced herself and brought him back to life. And they were both so fucking beautiful and happy and nervous and I… just stood there.’

‘You just stood there?’, Stiles was trying not to laugh, for Derek’s ego sake.

‘Yes. I just stood there. I introduced myself, shook his hand, told them to have a good time, reminded them I’ll be seeing them here, and went to my room and got dressed.’

‘You’re adorable.’, Stiles whispered. ‘But you still haven’t told me about Laura.’

Derek sighs. ‘After I finished getting dressed, I go downstairs, and I find Isaac in the living room, dressed in all black, and Laura in the kitchen, in her dark blue and very short dress, putting in water a big bouquet of white roses.’

‘Oh my god’, Stiles shrieked, excited.

‘Isaac blushed furiously, and shook my hand incredibly… professionally. And I didn’t understand it.’

‘Oh my god.’, Stiles whispered.

‘And then Laura told me that Isaac is taking her to the theater and that I should have fun at prom and not worry about her.’

‘Oh my god.’

‘Then, Isaac told me they’re probably going to go for a late dinner after the play, and Laura told me to not wait up.’

‘Oh my god.’

‘I don’t think I fully understood what was happening until after they left, and I was left in the middle of the living room, smelling hair dye and roses.’

Stiles laughed and laughed and laughed. He gave Derek a half-hug and once he was able to catch his breath, he told him with a completely straight face.

‘You, my man, are completely awesome. People should be writing sonnets about you and your socially awkward situations. But I can’t even make proper fun of you right now, because I am so happy for your sisters, you have no idea.’

Derek smiled. ‘I do, actually. I can feel it.’

Stiles raised his eyebrows.

‘Pack’, was all Derek said.                                                                                          

Before Stiles got to answer him, Finstock made his way towards them, handing them each a cup filled with coke.

‘I already have a drink’, Stiles frowned.

‘No, you don’t.’, Coach winked.

Stiles took a small sip of his drink and thanked the heavens for the existence of Finstock.

‘Vodka’, he moaned. ‘Damn, Coach, I knew there was a reason why I loved you.’

‘You hate me, Stilinski.’

‘I love you right now.’

‘Did you bring a date?’, Coach asked, narrowing his eyes on Derek.

Stiles blushed. ‘No, nope, not at all. This is Derek Hale, Cora’s brother. He’s chaperoning.’

The two men shook hands, and Coach shocked Stiles by saying the most polite thing he ever heard come out of the older man’s lips.

‘Your sister is one hell of a gal, Hale. She’s strong and smart, she could take this school down in one quick swipe and I’m convinced she’s going to rule the world one day.’

Derek’s eyes widened and he managed to tell a gruff ‘Thank you.’

Coach then turned to Stiles. ‘You know, Stilinski, I actually do remember your proms.’

‘Oh?’

‘You never got a date, always came stag with your other misfit friends and you danced with everyone you could get your hands on. But, by the end of the night, you’d always end up on the bleachers with a teacher, discussing philosophy or politics.’

Stiles blinked. ‘Why do you remember that? How do you even know that?’

‘Are you kidding me? Your gang was the most interesting thing that happened in this godforsaken highschool. Nobody understood how you got from hating each other’s guts to being inseparable in the span of a semester.’

‘I…’, Stiles tried. Coach interrupted.

‘And you were all so different. I still remember how shocked we teachers were when you all turned up to prom together, and demanded you were all in the couples pictures, even though you barely had any room in the goddamn booth. And how the guidance counselor thought it wasn’t possible for you all to actually care about one another, and she spent the next 3 years until you graduated, waiting for the shoe to drop and you to break up.’

Finstock laughed. ‘Everyone talked about you guys back then, Stilinski. But you and Martin especially, because you two were the smartest and the most rational students in school. You were vicious and overly protective of your friends. Hell, half the teachers were afraid of you.’

‘Are you serious right now?’, Stiles asked, frowning.

‘Totally.’

‘Well that’s fucked up. I mean, we were celebrities in the teacher’s lounge and complete pariahs in the cafeteria?’

Coach smiled, and Stiles had a mini heart attack, because it was a fond smile. ‘It worked out pretty well in the end, didn’t it? I know you’re all back in town, and I know you’re all still friends.’

‘Yeah’, Stiles managed.

Coach patted his shoulder. ‘I’m glad you have your life in order, Stilinski.’, he smiled. ‘Well then, you boys have fun and keep an eye out for these little devils, alright?’

‘Sure, Coach.’, Stiles nodded.

After Finstock left, Stiles looked over at Derek, who was watching him with a curious look on his face.

‘I need more alcohol.’, Stiles sighed.

‘I thought Coach hated you back in high school.’

‘I thought so too.’

‘Huh.’, Derek frowned.

‘Huh indeed. I still need more alcohol.’

Derek gave Stiles the keys to his car. ‘Glove compartment. Don’t drink it all, though, you’ll get too drunk, too fast.’

Stiles took the keys and practically ran out the gym.

⃝

As it happened, Stiles spent prom night with Derek. Mostly, they stood on the bleachers and talked. If anyone asked, they stood there making sure kids didn’t go behind the bleachers to drink. They talked like they normally do, about anything they could think of.

Around midnight, Cora made her way towards them. She sat on Derek’s lap, putting her feet in Stiles’ lap, whining about how heels are an invention of the Devil. Derek and Stiles just looked at her and smiled, and then their eyes met. Stiles felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise and Derek must have felt something too, because he jerked a little.

‘Whoa’, Cora straightened up. ‘What was that?’

‘You felt that?’, Stiles asked. She nodded, and so did Derek.

‘Then why did _I_ feel it?’, Stiles frowned, eyes not leaving Derek’s.

‘This is weird.’, Cora frowned.

Derek started laughing, to everyone’s surprise. ‘I think’, he took a deep breath, ‘that Stiles broke our pack’.

Stiles felt like he’d been punched in the gut. But then Derek put his hand over his and laughed some more. ‘You’re an overly emotional bastard who keeps leaking his feelings all over our pack bond, and all it seems to do to my wolf is make him want to cuddle more.’

Stiles’ jaw dropped and he looked towards Cora. ‘Same’, she smiled.

Stiles just… laughed. He squeezed Derek’s hand, kissed Cora’s forehead and laughed.

⃝

Stiles, Derek, Cora and Drew were the last ones to leave the dance, after 3am. Derek pointedly stood with his back towards Cora and Drew while they said their goodbyes, even though he could hear them with his werewolf superpowers. Stiles, however, lacking those, had no shame in watching them. He smiled and jumped up and down when they started kissing, then he laughed at Derek’s blushed, frowning face, and Stiles couldn’t stop his hands until they were ruffling his hair.

Cora came back, blushing and smiling, and Stiles hugged both the Hales and drove home.

The second he got out from the shower, his phone beeped, signaling a text.

Derek: Can I please sleep over?

Stiles: Hurry up, I’m tired.

15 minutes later, they were both in Stiles’ bed, in boxers and t-shirts. Stiles was on his side, facing Derek, and he was on his back, one hand under his head. Stiles was tired, but he was also curious.

‘Why are you here?’, he asked softly.

Derek sighed. ‘They were both in my bed, smiling and giggling and… and talking about boys.’

‘They’re happy?’

‘Yeah. But they were talking about boys.’, Derek whined.

Stiles felt himself smile and he poked Derek’s side. ‘You could’ve talked about boys with them, apparently.’

Derek looked at him and frowned. ‘You’re upset.’, he stated.

‘No, I’m not upset. I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me you’re gay. You know I wouldn’t have judged you or anything. And we’re friends and we grew close over these past months and I love you and your family, and you love me, and my friends and I just don’t understand.’

Stiles was frustrated and he knew Derek could feel it. He didn’t care how whiny and overly emotional he sounded, it was all true and Derek understood, he knew Derek understood.

Derek closed his eyes and let out a breath. Then, he surprised Stiles by turning around and leaning into him. Before he even realized what was happening, Stiles was laying on his back, Derek half on top of him, a hand thrown over his stomach. Derek buried his face into Stiles’ neck and his stubble was tickling.

Stiles sighed and brought his hands up, curling his fingers into Derek’s hair and putting a hand on his back. Derek shivered and whispered into Stiles’ neck.

‘It didn’t come up. You’re smart, Stiles, and you knew me, you wrote about me, I thought you’d assume.’

‘But it’s not like that, you know it’s not like that. You’re not like him, not completely.’

‘I’m sorry. I don’t… You know I don’t know… I never had friends.’

Derek sounded so sad and Stiles would have done anything at this point to make him smile. He hugged him tightly and whined like a 5 year old.

‘But Derek! That excuse isn’t going to work anymore, because you do have friends now, and we’re kind of insufferable and you can’t get rid of us, because you’ve kind of made us addicted to you and we’re pack and I’m your friend now and you’ll just have to deal with it and accept it and you still have to learn, but I’ll help you, I’ll tell you when you’re doing it wrong, you know I will, cause I’m a whiny jerk.’

By the end of his rant, Derek was laughing silently. He still had his face in the crook of Stiles’ neck.

‘So what’d’ya say, big guy?’, Stiles smiled. ‘Any other important pieces of information about you that you forgot to tell me?’

‘I hate carrots.’, Derek deadpanned. Stiles narrowed his eyes.

‘I’ve only had one serious relationship, it ended after 6 months, with him moving to New Zeeland for a job.’

Stiles sighed.

‘And I don’t understand how Cora hasn’t fallen in love with you yet.’

Stiles took Derek’s face in his hands, making the older man to look at him.

‘That is never going to happen.’

‘I don’t believe that.’, Derek smiled. ‘One day, she’ll wake up and realize that she’s truly in love with you.’

‘No. You said it yourself, werewolves are more in control of their emotions. I’m her best friend, Derek, she’ll never love me like that.’

‘You really believe that’, Derek whispered.

‘I don’t just believe it. I know it’s true.’

‘Okay’, Derek sighed and buried his face back into Stiles’ neck. ‘Awkwardest day ever.’, he mumbled.

It wasn’t weird. It didn’t feel weird. But Stiles’ heart was beating faster than it should. He managed to calm down in a few minutes, but his heart still ached. They fell asleep like that.

⃝

Derek and Stiles woke up the next morning around noon. They showered, ate breakfast, had coffee, drove to the Hale house where all of their friends were already gathered in the living room, around boxes of pizza.

Stiles couldn’t help but smile when he saw the way Laura and Isaac sat next to each other on the couch, his hand dropped over her shoulder. They were both talking with other people, but they couldn’t seem to stop touching each other. It was adorable and it warmed Stiles’ heart.

Half way through the meal, all the wolves tensed and stopped talking. Derek and Cora looked to Laura, panic on their faces.

‘I didn’t call him.’, she frowned. ‘But it’s ok. It’s good, right? I mean, he should meet everyone.’

‘Who?’, Isaac asked.

‘Peter. He’s gonna be her in two minutes.’

Everybody was silent for a few seconds, so Stiles faked coughed and looked at Laura.

‘Still trust him?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Completely?’

‘Almost.’

‘Is he pack?’

‘Almost.’

‘And that means what?’

‘It means that I’ve started to feel him and even though we’re not fully there, we’ll be soon enough.’

‘That’s a good thing, right?’, Isaac asked.

‘Yeah’, Laura shrugged. ‘He’s the last family we’ve got.’

‘He’s also a bit creepy and slightly perverted.’ Everybody stared at Stiles. ‘What? He is! He’s a sassy fuck, but I have to admit he is kind of funny.’

‘Do you like him?’, Derek asked.

‘Firstly, ewww. Secondly, I kinda just want to keep Laura as far away from him as possible, but I think that’s just me, and I’m not being as impartial as I should be. Thirdly, he’s sassy and funny. Of course I like him, even though he annoys me.’

‘Oh god’, Jackson groans. ‘If he’s able to annoy Stilinski, we’re fucking doomed.’

They all laugh.

Derek makes his way to the door, opening it for Peter before he got to knock. The man moved quickly in the living room, ignoring everyone, going straight to Laura, lifting her off the sofa and hugging her tightly.

‘What’s wrong?’, she asked while awkwardly patting him on the back with one hand.

‘Stiles is an awful human being.’

Everybody turned to look at him. He blinked a couple of times, staring at Laura and Peter.

‘So, you’ve read the books.’, is what Stiles decided to stay.

‘Yes’, Peter didn’t let go on Laura.

‘Did you like them?’

‘No.’

‘That was a lie’, Derek smiled.

Then, Peter let go of Laura and turned towards Stiles, staring him down.

‘What are you?’

Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘We’ve had this conversation before, remember, old man? Didn’t reach a conclusion and wordlessly agreed we weren’t going to talk about it anymore.’

Peter kept staring him down, an evil look in his eyes.

‘Fine. Then, what the hell is wrong with you? The books were horrible.’

Stiles shrugged. ‘They had a happy ending.’

‘Isaac died!’, Peter raised his voice and his eyes flashed gold.

‘You know who’s who?’, Isaac asked, incredulously.

It was only then when Peter took his eyes off Stiles and looked sheepishly around the room.

‘Hello, everyone.’, he smiled. ‘I’m their uncle Peter.’

‘Uncle Peter who killed sister Laura.’, Cora giggled.

‘Uncle Peter who got his throat slashed by Alpha Derek.’, Derek smiled.

Peter pouted and threw himself on the couch, next to Cora. Stiles laughed and he kept laughing when Laura introduced him to everyone.

⃝

Over the next month, Peter eased himself into the pack. They all got to know him, and even though they hardly were ever alone with him, everyone grew somewhat fond of him. They liked Peter, even if he was annoying and sassy, he was amusing.

The pack took great pleasure in watching the matches that would develop between Peter and Stiles. They’d always try to outsmart or outsass each other. It would always end in a draw.

But that was fine by Stiles, he was having fun and he was glad Cora, Laura and Derek found a family member that they enjoyed having around.

Thing were good for a couple of weeks, and then summer came along and school was out. Stiles spent most of his time reading or hanging out with his friends, when they had the time. Laura and Isaac were dating, Cora and Drew were dating. Peter moved his business to Beacon Hills and got a few photographing gigs. Lydia, Jackson and Danny closed the firm for a month and went on an extended vacation, so Derek was on vacation too. They’d run together in the morning and marathon tv shows in the evening.

Things were good.

For a while, at least.

⃝

It was a bit after 7am, and Stiles and Derek were jogging through the woods, following a trail that people didn’t use too often. They weren’t talking, they never did.

They were running side by side at a steady pace, until he saw Derek stumbling over and falling to the ground. Before he got to say anything, Stiles felt a pinch on the back of his head. He touched it and took out what seemed to be a tranquillizer dart.

‘Oh shit’, he whispered.

His legs gave out and so did his mind. Stiles slept.

⃝

When he woke up, his body was aching and he had a headache, of course he did. He opened his eyes, but he was blinded by light, so he closed them back quickly. Then, he tried moving his body, realizing he couldn’t. After a few seconds, his brain started working again and Stiles realized he was sitting on a chair, with his hands tied behind his back and feet tied to the chair.

He groaned.

‘Oh, you’re awake.’, a woman’s voice said.

Stiles opened his eyes, but it took a few minutes for them to adjust to the light in the room. The woman didn’t say anything.

He groaned again and tried to focus his eyes on her. She was about 30, slim and fit, wearing all black, a badass leather jacket, long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was beautiful, but her eyes were hateful.

‘What the fuck?’, Stiles said, trying to tame his panic down.

‘Well, at least one of you is awake to keep me company.’, she smiled.

That made Stiles look around the room he was in. Beside him, on another chair, stood Derek. He was also tied up, and unconscious.

‘What the fuck?’, he asked, again, rage building up in his gut.

‘Oh come on, wolf boy’, the woman rolled her eyes. ‘Did you really think you’re safe? Monsters like you need to be put down.’

So she thought he was a werewolf too? So she was a werewolf hunter.

‘What the fuck?’

The woman frowned and looked straight into his eyes.

‘You’re going to die here. The both of you. We’re going to kill you, slowly and painfully. After that, we’re going after you pack.’

Then, she left the room. Oddly enough, she closed the door, but didn’t lock it.

‘What the fuck?’, Stiles asked the universe.

He looked over at Derek and his heart sunk. He looked awful, his face was pale and he was sweating.

‘I’m getting you out of here if it’s the last thing I do.’, he told him. Derek didn’t answer.

Stiles closed his eyes, took a deep breath and straightened his back. He wiggled around, until he was able to get his hands on the waistband of his running shorts.

Stiles knew he had an exaggerated paranoid personality. He knew it came with Dad’s training sessions that started when he was little, and he knew he took everything to the next level. It wasn’t always good. His friends teased him about it, other people made fun of him, his therapist used to tell him that he was obsessive.

Right now, Stiles is terrified. For his life, for Derek’s, for his pack. But he’s not useless.

After a bit of work, he manages to rip the hem of his shorts, and pull out a small razor blade he put there the day after he bought them. He cuts himself in it, and it hurts, and he knows he’s bleeding, but he starts cutting the rope with it, silently thanking his obsessively paranoid personality.

⃝

It takes a while, but he manages to cut the ropes on his hands. He untied the ones on his legs. He untied Derek’s ropes, but he still wasn’t waking up, and judging by the marks he still had on his skin, the ropes were soaked in wolfsbane.

Stiles took off his shirt and wrapped it around his right hand, because there was no way for him to get rid of all the wolfsbane on it. He took a deep breath and punched Derek in the face. His fist hurt, but it didn’t matter, because Derek woke up.

He gasped and stood up, eyes flashing blue and claws coming out. When he saw Stiles, he calmed down a little and his eyes turned back to their normal human color.

‘What happened?’, he growled.

‘Hunters kidnapped us. I don’t know how many, I don’t know where we are, I only saw one chick, she wasn’t armed. I’m guessing because of the wolfsbane soaked roped they tied us in. The door is open but I don’t know where it leads. Also, she thinks I’m a werewolf too and they want to kill all our pack.’ Stiles said all of this in a complete straight, normal tone, while putting his t-shirt back on.

Derek blinked. ‘How did you get out of the ropes and why are you bleeding?’

Stiles shrugged. ‘I had a razor. I used it to cut the ropes.’

‘Where did you get the razor?’

‘From under the tag of my shorts.’

Derek stared.

Stiles sighed. ‘Look, man, we can talk about how my acute paranoia got us untied, but right now, you need to tell me if you’re healing, if the wolfsbane’s still affecting you, and then we need you to use your super wolfy powers and listen in, so we can figure out a way to get out.’

Derek was still staring, so Stiles slapped him, somewhat gently, on the chest. The wolf shook himself and swallowed.

‘Ok. Ok. Let me just…’, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

After a couple of seconds, he opened his eyes. ‘There’s only two of them, and they’re having sex in the room next to us.’, he pointed a finger.

‘They’re having sex?’, Stiles asked incredulously. ‘Bastards. Oh god, you hear people having sex. Jesus, no wonder you live in a house. Does that mean that if you bring someone home, Laura and Cora would hear you? That’s so disturbing, ewwwwww.’, he whined. ‘How do you even jerk off in a house full of werewolves?’

Derek raised his eyebrows and glared.

‘Right, priorities.’, Stiles sighed. ‘Do you know where we are?’

‘There’s a road. Close by, in the opposite direction of the hunters.’

Stiles nodded. ‘Run for it?’

‘Be careful.’, Derek made his way towards the door and slowly opened it.

‘You too, babe’, Stiles said, absently.

⃝

Their escape was surprisingly anticlimactic. Stiles and Derek got out of the room they were kept in, and found themselves in a long hallway. They were a few doors on either side of it, and three small tables, piled with guns. Big guns. A lot of big guns. Stiles shivered.

Derek took his hand and led him down the hallway. He slowly opened a door and they were outside. They were outside of a big house, in the south part of Beacon Hills. They started running, and when Derek wanted to go to the left, to the woods, Stiles grabbed his hand and guided him to the right.

‘Isaac’s apartment is two blocks down.’

‘He’s at work’, Derek said, but he followed Stiles anyway.

‘Shit’, Stiles sighed.

He ran into the first shop he found open, which happened to be a fancy ladies underwear store. When the store clerk gasped, Stiles realized he must look like shit. His hands were still bleeding, his t-shirt was stained with blood and he had bruises on his hands and legs, probably from the hunters manhandling him.

‘I’m sorry, I’m not gonna hurt you, I just want to know the time.’, he tried to talk in a reassuring tone.

‘8.20’, the woman answered. ‘Do you want me to call the cops?’

‘No, please don’t, I’m fine, thank you.’, he yelled, exiting the store.

He kept running, and Derek followed. ‘Isaac should still be at home. Do you think they’re following us?’

‘No, they didn’t hear us leave. And judging by the fact that they were still in the foreplay stage of sex, it might take a while before they check on us.’

‘Words cannot express how disturbing I find that.’

Stiles sighed and picked up the pace. Derek followed.                                

⃝

Isaac screamed when he opened the door and saw them. He was shirtless, in his uniform pants, with one sock on.

‘We’re fine, thank you for asking. Might if we come in?’, Stiles rolled his eyes while pushing Isaac aside. He headed towards the bathroom and scrubbed the blood and wolfsbane on his hands. He absently heard Derek telling Isaac what happened.

A minute later, Derek joined him in the bathroom, but he got into the bathtub, fully clothed. Stiles frowned.

‘The rope around my legs had wolfsbane too. It’s still there.’

‘Right’, Stiles nodded and got out of there.

In the living room, Isaac was on the phone with someone, probably Laura, explaining what happened. Two minutes later, when Derek joined them, Isaac put the phone on speaker.

‘Here’s what we’re going to do!’, Laura’s voice was determined. ‘They’ll probably be tracking down all of us, so we have to be careful. At least Lydia, Jackson and Danny are out of town.’, she sighed. ’I am going to call Scott and Allison and make them take a day off works. Isaac will do the same. The three of you will come here, and stay with Cora, while I go to the hunters’ house and try to talk to them.’

‘You’re not going alone!’, Isaac said, as Derek yelled ‘Not alone you’re not!’

They looked at each other and they both nodded.

‘What if _you_ don’t go there at all?’, Stiles questioned.

‘I have to, Stiles, they’re threatening my pack. I’ll take Peter with me.’

‘Exactly. Your pack. Which, sorry to break it to you, consist of mostly humans. Why don’t I call my dad?’

‘And tell him what?’, Stiles could almost see Laura frowning.

‘That I was running this morning with Derek in the Preserve, like I usually do, that someone shot tranquilizers at us, that we woke up with a blonde bitch threatening to kill us slowly and painfully, that we got out and run to Isaac’s place, which was the closest.’

‘You…’, Derek frowned. ‘You want to bring in the cops in a werewolf versus hunters fight.’

‘Think about it. They kidnapped the sheriff’s son, who is a well known, published author, and a well respected attorney. Do you actually think they have permits for all those guns?’

Derek’s raised his eyebrows. ‘Huh’, was all he said.

‘It could work.’, Isaac reasoned.

‘We’d still need someone to talk to them!’, Laura raised her voice.’They’re in my territory, they’re a threat, I need to know what I am dealing with, regardless if they end up in prison or not. I need to know if there’s more of them coming, why are they here, how are they here, how do they know-‘

‘I can do that.’, Isaac interrupted her. ‘The Sheriff will probably want to interrogate them himself, but I can get in after he’s done. And I can let Derek behind the mirror, to see if they’re lying.’

‘You’d do that?’, Laura asked in a hushed voice.

‘Of course.’, Isaac frowned.

‘It might work, sis.’, Derek whispered.

‘Yeah, yeah. Ok. But you’re all sleeping here tonight.’

Nobody disagreed.

⃝

After Stiles called his father, Isaac let them wash up and lend them some clean clothes. When they arrived at the Police station, the two hunters were already in custody. The Sheriff hugged Stiles tightly, and after looking at his cut hands and making sure he was ok, he quickly hugged Derek and fussed over him two.

Stiles smiled, because he was glad his father cared about the Hales. His dad was always so supportive about Stiles’ friends, he grew to love each and every one of them like they were his kids, and Stiles was glad Derek was included in that category. Derek, however, was completely shocked by the Sheriff’s behavior, and he just stopped breathing or reacting for a couple of seconds. Isaac elbowed him in the stomach and Derek came out of his trance, he even managed to smile to the Sheriff. Stiles was biting his lip, trying not to laugh out loud.

The Sheriff put Stiles and Derek into one of the interrogation rooms, with one of the newer deputies to take their statements. His name was Alex and his jaw dropped when Stiles told him how he was able to get out of the ropes. But besides that, it all went normal and fairly well.

After that, they were left alone in the room, waiting for the Sheriff to complete his interrogation of the two hunters.

 ‘It scares me to see how comfortable you’re here.’, Derek says after a few minutes of silence.

Stiles is sitting on the desk, dangling his feet in the air. Derek is sitting on a chair, on his left, so Stiles has to look down at him.

He shrugs. ‘I spent a lot of time here when I was little. I spent all my time here after mom died. When I grew up and I could be trusted to be left home alone, I would still walk here and bring dad lunch and eat with him. When I grew up and got a car and became a teenager, Scott and I were always getting in trouble, one way or another. I’ve spent a total of 12 nights in the holding cells.’

‘That’s weird.’, Derek says, but he’s smiling.

Stiles nods. ‘I’ll let you in on a little secret.’, he giggles. ‘Sometimes, in high school, dad would tell me things. Things he shouldn’t tell me, you know? Details about cases and stuff. He even showed me case files a few times. I’d help him solve them.’

‘Really?’

‘Yup. It helped hearing a new perspective.’

‘Huh.’, Derek frowned. ‘Are there any differences between you and Tom? Because it’s hard for me to see any.’, he said in a frustrated voice.

Stiles blinked. A couple of times.

‘Well, uhm, he’s bisexual, I’m just gay. Also, I’m not that brave.’

Before Derek got a chance to answer, Isaac and the Sheriff came into the interrogation room. Stiles distracted his dad and took him out to the closest diner for a bite to eat, and Isaac and Derek talked with the hunters.

Even though Stiles was really anxious and incredibly curious about what the hunters have said, he enjoyed the time he spent with his father. They didn’t talk about what had happened, but more about the Hales and Erica. They were ‘the new ones’, as the Sheriff called them, and he was always curious to find out more about them.

‘I still don’t understand how you ended up falling in love with the Hales’, the Sheriff said.

Stiles scoffed. ‘I’m not _in love_ with them.’

‘But you do love them.’

‘Yeah. I love them to death.’

‘How did that happen?’, the Sheriff smiled.

‘I don’t know, it just did. And I’m glad it did, but I don’t want to analyze everything anymore.’

His father raised an eyebrow. ‘Who are you and what have you done with my son?’

Stiles glared.

‘Stiles Stilinski, not analyzing everything at least 10 times? Is the world coming to an end?’, the Sheriff joked.

Stiles shrugged. ‘I love them too much to analyze it.’

The Sheriff’s expression softened. ‘Well, I’m glad, son. They’re good people, and I think they need all the love they can get.’

Stiles didn’t say anything more.

After they were done with their meal, the Sheriff drove Stiles to the Preserve, where he got in his car and made his way to the Hale house.

⃝

Isaac and Derek were already there, as were Allison, Scott and Peter. But when he got inside (he didn’t bother with knocking on the door, it was always opened and they could hear him long before he got there), Cora was the only one in the living room.

‘Come here, sweetie’, he whispered. In less than a second, Cora had her arms around his waist and she was crying softly oh his chest.

‘I’m ok, we’re ok, everything’s gonna be ok’, he whispered.

Derek run down the stairs, he was wearing just a pair of jeans and his hair was still wet from the shower. He looked so sad and on the verge of tears and Stiles could feel it, he could feel Cora and Derek’s sadness and despair in his gut. He reached a hand out for him, and then Derek was there, holding his hand and hugging him and Cora both, his face pressed into her hair.

They stood like that for a couple of minutes, until Laura, Isaac, Scott, Allison and Peter made their way downstairs.

Stiles wiped the tears from his face, even though he didn’t even realize when he started crying. He hugged Scott tightly, not needing to say anything, and Allison kissed his forehead.

When he turned around towards the rest of them, he stopped breathing and his eyes widened. He stood there, frozen in place, looking at Derek’s back. Staring at his triskele tattoo. Just like the one Alpha Derek had.

Derek stopped moving too, as if he sensed something. He didn’t turn around completely, just slowly turned his head towards Stiles. They looked at each other for a few seconds, until Stiles’ brain started working again.

‘S-sorry’, he stuttered. ‘I… I never saw it before.’

‘You didn’t know?’, Derek asked.

‘No. I… no.’

‘You know’, Laura smiled. ‘There aren’t that many differences between your characters and us.’

‘I’m starting to see that.’, Stiles whispered, as he made his way towards the kitchen, intending to get the biggest mug he could find and fill it with coffee.

⃝

They stood round the living room and drank coffee, as Isaac and Derek filled them in on what they found out about the hunters.

It was only the two of them, and they came here following Peter. They’ve been following him since his wife died, hunting and killing werewolves in every town they’d end up in. Peter apologized to Laura, but Derek cut him off. It really wasn’t his fault they were captured. Thankfully, nothing bad happened.

The hunters were charged with assault, kidnapping and they had no permit for their guns. They were also suspects in a bunch of murders, arsons and robberies, all over the country. The Sheriff and Isaac were positive that they’d both spend years in prison.

‘So, nobody else is coming?’, Cora questioned.

‘No’, Derek answered her. ‘They said it’s just the two of them and they weren’t lying.’

‘Are all hunters like that? Killing, torturing, burning every werewolf they can get their hands on?’, Stiles asked in a cold voice, that seemed to surprise everyone, judging by the looks they were throwing him.

‘No, they’re not’, Laura spoke softly. ‘The Code you spoke of in your books is real. Hunters usually don’t kill innocent werewolves. They exist for the purpose of taking out rogues, rabid werewolves. Packs usually have treaties with the hunters in their territory. They work together, not against one another. Of course, there are exceptions.’

‘But we’re safe now, right? They’re gone and no one else is coming.’, Cora argued.

‘We’re safe now’, Laura agreed.

‘Great’, Peter rolled his eyes. ‘Now what movie are we watching?’

⃝

A few hours and several episodes of Mythbusters later, Cora randomly stood up and went out the front door. Stiles was confused, but Laura and Derek didn’t seem concerned, so he let it be.

One minute later, his dad came into the living room, carrying five boxes of pizzas, Cora high on his heels, carrying five more.

‘Uhm’, he said, eloquently.

‘I’m starving’, Scott whines, taking a box.

‘Thank you, Papa Stilinski’, Allison kisses his cheek and takes another box.

‘Uhm’, Stiles was still frowning.

‘Papa Stilinski?’, Laura questions.

‘That is not my doing, I’m used to Sheriff’, he sighs.

‘It’s best if you just go with it’, Isaac told Laura, kissing her cheek.

‘Uhm’, Stiles was still frowning.

Derek punches his shoulder, lightly. ‘You don’t have a problem with us inviting your father for lunch, do you?’

Stiles looks at him. Derek’s smiling, so Stiles narrows his eyes at him. He turns towards his father.

‘Not if there’s a veggie pizza in there somewhere.’

The Sheriff rolls his eyes but says nothing. It’s Allison who reprimands her friend.

‘I think Papa Stilinski can live one day in greasy, tasty sin, considering all the things he did for you today.’

‘Fine! But tomorrow you’re back on healthy food.’, Stiles points a finger at his father’s chest.

‘Yes, Master’, he mutters while reaching for a pizza box.

All the Hales laugh.

The Sheriff takes a spot on the couch near Derek, and spends half the time talking with him or Laura, and half the time smiling fondly at Stiles and Cora. It’s one of the best days Stiles had in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone commented with 'keep Laura away from Peter'. I had to include that somehow, because it was brilliant and I laughed. Also, I feel like I should say that I ... I just... I want Peter to be a good guy in the end gdi.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles' life becomes a supernatural Hell.

The next day, Stiles goes home to shower, but he returns to the Hale house in swim trunks and sunglasses, with a blanket, sunscreen and his favorite book.

They walk over to the small lake that’s on the Hale property, laying on the edge of it, sunbathing, drinking beer and eating chips. Cora helps Stiles put sunscreen on his back, and all the time he mumbles about ‘freaking wolfy powers, you don’t get to burn your skin, ugh’. Cora kisses his frustration away.

Laura is on her back, with Isaac’s head on her stomach, idly playing with his curls. Scott and Allison are dozing off in a bundle of limbs and dark hair. Cora and Drew are playing cards a bit further away from them, closer to the water, with, surprisingly enough, Stiles’ dad and Scott’s mother. Derek is reading case files, while sitting on his stomach, dangling his feet in the air. Stiles takes a moment to look at him.

The way his muscles contract with every small movement, his relaxed posture. The tattoo on his back, which brings back memories of Stiles tracing it with his tongue. He takes a big breath, pushing those thoughts away, concentrating on Derek’s scars. It’s weird for Stiles to see them, he’s used to Derek’s body being perfect, healing from everything. But now, seeing the small cuts on his arms and back, the bigger ones on his calves, the one on his lower back, that goes on under the waist band of his shorts, they all make Derek look a lot more human in Stiles’ eyes. It’s easy for him to forget he’s a werewolf, to forget about the flashing eyes and the fangs and claws. It’s easy for him to forget how lethal Derek is. Seeing him like this, Stiles can’t help but think about exactly how human Derek is.

You cut him, he bleeds. You hit him, he hurts. You break his heart, he cries. You tell him a joke, he laughs. He loves, he hates. He has qualities, and he has flaws. Still, Stiles can’t stop seeing Derek as perfect. Perfect for him.

He’s brought out of his haze by his dad’s voice, saying goodbye and telling them he’ll drive Mrs. McCall and Drew home. The next minute was spent in a daze of hugs and kisses and it left Stiles sitting on his blanket, on his back, feeling incredibly warm and loved. He turned around on his stomach, and continued reading his book, the pack talking near him making for a nice background noise. After a few minutes, Newt comes and sits next to him, plastering himself by Stiles’ side.

He slowly turned and stared at the dog. Yes, the husky was beautiful and quite adorable, but he usually seemed to not like Stiles, and generally avoided him. He waited for a couple of seconds, then he experimentally put a hand in the wolf’s fur, and it was soft and nice to the touch. Stiles couldn’t help but smile. He scratches him behind his ears and Newt wiggles his tail and puts his head on Stiles’ butt. He looked around and saw Derek watching the interaction, with a fond smile on his face.

‘Uhm…’, Stiles frowned.

‘Please don’t make a dog/werewolf joke.’, Derek whined.

‘But is it? A dog/werewolf thing? Am I irresistible to creatures of the moon?’

‘Creatures of the moon?’ Laura laughs from somewhere on Stiles’ left.

‘I don’t know, I have no explanation for this. I thought he hated me!’, he whined.

‘Clearly, he doesn’t.’, Derek laughs.

Stiles sighs. ‘Is he sleeping?’

‘Yup. You’re officially his pillow.’, Laura grins.

He glares at her. ‘Well then, I’m just going to ignore the fluffy sleeping ball of adorableness and fangs next to me, and I’ll get back to reading.’

‘You do that pretty often, considering how Cora likes to cuddle’, Laura chuckles.

Stiles glares at her.

‘What are you reading, anyway? That books looks gorgeous.’, Cora asks.

And it does, the book really looks amazing. It’s an illustrated edition, kind of old, Stiles found it in a pawn shop in England, and he still paid a couple of hundred pounds for it. Stiles called it a small miracle, finding this on the last day he was in the country, still having a lot of cash he didn’t spend over the months.

‘Polish fairytales.’, he smiles.

‘Really?’, Derek raises his eyebrows.

‘Yup. It’s my favorite book. I read it at least once a year, to be honest. They’re nice fairytales, a lot more dark that what we’ve grown up with. And the folklore at the core of them in incredibly interesting.’

Derek crawls over to his blanket, carefully arranging his body around Newt, looking over Stiles’ shoulder.

‘Holy shit’, he wheezes.

Scott and Allison start laughing. Cora makes her way over to them too, plastering herself over Derek’s body. He doesn’t even acknowledge it.

‘It’s so beautiful’, she whispers.

‘Why do you speak Polish?’, Derek asks. They don’t look at him, they just stare at the book. Stiles is still holding on to it, but Derek brushed his fingers gently on the hem of it, slowly turning a page.

‘Because I’m half Polish?’, Stiles smiles.

‘You what?’, Laura asks, impatiently.

‘Mom was Polish. I used to go there every summer when I was young. I kept going, even after she died. Not so often now, but I still skype with my cousins and stuff. My Polish is a bit rusty nowadays, but I can still manage.’

Derek and Cora were still mesmerized by the book.

‘You know’, Laura said with a frown. ‘I dated this Polish guy once. It didn’t last very long, because it was impossible for me to sleep in the same room with him without having nightmares. I thought he was a witch or something, because he knew what I was the moment he saw me. But when I ditched him, he told me he was a mare?! I thought he was insane.’

Stiles froze. ‘Shit’, he breathed, after a beat.

‘What’s a mare?’, Isaac asks.

Mechanically, Stiles answers him. ‘ _Nightmare_. It’s a Germanic folklore myth, an evil spirit or goblin that rides on people’s chest while they sleep, making them have bad dreams, nightmares. The victims would wake up with tangled hair. In most mythologies, mares were women.’

Everybody was silent.

‘Hey, guys’, Stiles laughed awkwardly. ‘So, werewolves are real, that’s a thing that exists in our reality. What… What other things are real?’

He looks over to Laura. She shrugs.

He looks to Derek. He frowns. ‘A lot of things. Different things. All myths have to come from somewhere, right?’

‘That’s terrifying.’, Stiles deadpans.

‘I used to go to school with a vampire’, Cora smiles. Stiles stares.

‘Yeah, he was cool. He was like 90 and still acted like he was 13. Didn’t drink people, though, he considered himself a vegan. So he only fed on bunnies. Drank a lot of whisky, though.’

Stiles just… stood there, panting a bit. He closed the book and put his head on it. ‘Terrifying.’

He tuned out the conversations around him, vaguely aware of Scott, Allison and Isaac asking the werewolves about other creatures they know about. He was falling asleep, with Newt on his side and Derek’s hand on his back. He felt a shift in the air, somehow.

Next thing he knows, he’s in the air, levitating ten feet over the ground. He panics and looks down, the wolves are shifted and on their feet, the humans lying on the ground.

‘I can’t move’, Scott yells.

‘Me neither’, Derek grows.

A woman appears out of thin air. She’s slim, wearing a white long dress, blonde hair, pale skin, eyes glowing white. She has her hand out, towards Stiles, like she’s controlling him.

‘You will not harm this land.’, she says, and her voice is whispered, but also loud, so loud.

The wolves keep growling.

Stiles is panicking, he doesn’t know what’s happening, but somehow, after he takes a deep breath, everything calms down, his heart stop beating so fast and he can think rationally about what is happening. He stops fidgeting and looks at her, speaking in a calm voice.

‘I will not harm this land. I will protect it.’

‘How?’, she asks.

‘I don’t know. But I will.’

‘You’re powerful.’

‘I am not.’

‘Not yet.’

‘Leave us be. We mean no harm.’

‘I believe you.’

She lowers Stiles down on the ground, and releases her hold on everyone else. Derek moves towards her, but Stiles and Laura both tell him to stop.

The woman turns towards Laura and bows her head. ‘Your pack’s doing is on your head, Alpha.’

‘I know. What is it to you?’

‘We’ve protected this forest for many years.’

‘We mean you no harm. The Hale pack claimed this territory as ours. Is that a problem to your kind?’, Laura sais evenly, calmly, even though her eyes are still glowing red.

‘No’, the woman says. ‘It is your territory now, and you must protect it. We are in a treaty now. But we will not hold back if harm comes to us or our forest.’

‘Agreed’, Laura nods.

The woman then turns to Stiles and smiles. ‘Be careful, new one. Be strong.’

Stiles says nothing and she vanishes.

‘What the fuck just happened?’, Scott asked, panicked.

‘I have no idea.’, Stiles wheezes out, falling to the ground. Cora’s there, and she’s fussing over him. ‘I’m fine, just tired’, he tells her.

‘I think we just made a pact with the fey of this forest.’, Laura says.

They all stare at her. ‘It’s a good thing’, she shrugs.

‘Fey?’, Allison frowns.

‘Fey.’, Isaac says, incredulously.

‘Fucking fey?’, Stiles yells.

‘How did you know what to say?’, Laura asks him.

Stiles shakes his head. ‘I didn’t. I didn’t think. I just…’

‘Instinct.’, Derek frowns.

‘What the fuck am I?’, Stiles sighs.

‘New.’, Laura is looking at him in a strange way.

‘What does that mean, Laura?’

‘I don’t know, Stiles. But I have a feeling we’re going to find out soon.’ She shakes her head. ‘Let’s go back to the house.’

⃝

Lydia, Jackson and Danny weren’t back from their holyday yet, Scott and Allison went to visit some of her relatives in San Francisco, Stiles’ father and Isaac had to go to New York for two weeks, because they had to testify in a big trial. Erica spent most her time in Los Angeles, working.

Stiles was left with the Hales. Over the next weeks, Derek practically moved in with Stiles. Cora slept with them sometimes, and they’d go over to the Hale house most days.

And boy, was Stiles grateful he had a werewolf bodyguard at all times. Because his world turned into supernatural Hell.

One day, a vampire held the door of the coffee shop for him, telling him that he was just passing through. He had blonde hair and he was wearing a fedora.

He was in the supermarket and a naked lady with seaweed in her hair gave him a water lily, telling him the waters respect him. Stiles put the flower in water when he got home. It sparkled in natural light.

He was running in the woods with Derek, and a small girl screamed so loud, it made Derek’s ears bleed. She giggled and told them that the death omens will name their losses.

He was driving with Cora in the right seat, when the radio started buzzing and a male voice told them that the other realm will stay far from the packs touch. They had to turn the heater when music started playing again, because the temperature dropped drastically.

He was close to the Hale house, with Derek, when a unicorn appeared out of nowhere and bowed his head to them. When it disappeared into thin air, he left a bush of roses in its place.

Not all the encounters were as peaceful as these, though.

Like the fairies with black wings that kidnapped Laura. Stiles, Derek, Cora and Peter helped her escape with iron rods. The fairies apologized and disappeared.

Or like the two trolls that wanted to destroy the Hale house. Thankfully, it was raining, and they stopped them with MacGyver skills and electricity.

Or like the coven of witches that kidnapped all the wolves, but immediately let them go and ran when Stiles got there.

Stiles had no idea what was going on anymore.

⃝

Derek was sleeping over again, of course he was. He had a drawer in Stiles’ bedroom, a toothbrush and his aftershave in the bathroom, he always took the left side of the bed and he always slept with Stiles.

They cooked together, they watched tv, they talked a lot, they stood silent for hours, Stiles reading and Derek working. It was so domestic and it felt so right. Stiles was suffering, because he wanted Derek badly. He was in love with him, and it hurt, the way Derek would touch him in his sleep, or how he’d smile at him in the morning, handing him his favorite coffee mug. They matched so well together, they matched perfectly. Yes, they had different opinions on things, they’d banter and they’d fight, but even then, all that would do is bring them closer.

He had thought about saying something to Derek. But he couldn’t. He cherished his friendship with him, and he didn’t want to screw it up. And Stiles was aware of how childish that sounded, but Derek said, over and over again, that werewolves are more in control of their emotions. And Derek would have said something, if he felt something towards Stiles.

But Derek didn’t say anything. And neither did Stiles.

It was late at night, and Stiles spent the last hour on the phone with his father, who was still away. He missed his dad, and with all the things that have been happening to him lately, he was not in a good mood.

When he got in the bedroom, Derek was already in bed. He was wearing just a pair of shorts, and he was lying on his stomach, hands under his head.

Stiles turned off the lights, but the room wasn’t complete dark, it never was because his window was in front of a street lamp. He liked it. Stiles got under the covers and ran his fingers over Derek’s tattoo. He didn’t even flinch, and even though he had his eyes closed, Stiles knew he wasn’t asleep yet.

‘What does it mean?’

‘You know what it means.’

‘No, I know what it means for Alpha Derek. What does it mean to you?’

Derek turned his head and looked at Stiles.

‘It should mean the same thing for me, shouldn’t it?’

‘No. I don’t think so. You’re not the same.’

‘You don’t sound convinced.’, Derek smiled.

‘I’m not. But I know you _shouldn’t_ be the same.’, Stiles argued.

‘Well’, Derek closed his eyes. ‘It does mean past, present and future for me too. But it’s also about my parents. It was their sign, they always added it to their signature, they had in engraved in the wood of their bed headboard, they had it on their wedding rings. I don’t know when they started using it, or why they did. But it’s just… it defines them.’

‘Did it mean past, present, future for them too?’

‘Yes and no. Dad always said it meant that, and mom agreed, but when we were alone, she’d always say the three swirls are me, Cora and Laura, and that they’re in the middle.’

‘That’s beautiful, babe.’

‘Yeah.’, Derek sighed.

‘I wish I would have met them.’, Stiles whispered.

‘Mom would’ve loved you. She would have fed you all the sweets she could think of, saying you’re too skinny.’

Stiles laughed. ‘If my mom would have met you, she would have made you come out of your shell in 10 minutes, tops.’

They stay silent for a few more minutes, but they’re not asleep yet.

‘What’s happening, Derek?’, Stiles whispers.

Derek hums, and it sounds like a questions.

‘Why are all these things coming to us? To me? Laura’s the Alpha, what do I have to do with it?’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘What? Why?’, Stiles gets defensive.

‘You shouldn’t have been dragged into this mess.’, Derek frowns. His eyes are still closed, but his head is turned towards Stiles, and he can feel his sadness through the pack bond, which, over the last few weeks, grew stronger and now goes both ways, Stiles can feel all the wolves, just like they can feel him.

‘But that’s what pack is, right? All for one, one for all?’

‘You don’t regret being part of the pack?’, Derek asks, and it’s so low, and gentle, Stiles would have missed it if they weren’t so close. And it’s so vulnerable and sad and Stiles can’t stand that.

‘No’, he says, and he doesn’t care how desperate it sounds. He moves even closer to Derek, and buries his face in his shoulder. ‘No, never. I can’t, no.’

‘You should’, Derek whispers.

‘No.’

Derek’s phone beeps, signaling a text. He sighs, but turns around and grabs it from the nightstand.

Stiles can see the back of his neck going bright red.

‘Why are you blushing, man?’, he laughs. ‘Who’s sexting you?’

Derek just throws the phone at him and buries his face in a pillow.

Laura: Could you and Stiles stop? It’s usually easy for me and Cora to ignore your FEELINGS but you’re both incredibly angsty tonight. It sucks. Why don’t you suck each other off and GO. TO. SLEEP.

‘Holy god’, Stiles wheezes and puts the phone down.

Derek groans.

After a few seconds, Stiles can’t stop himself.

‘Do you know when the others are having sex?’

Derek groans.

‘Is it just sex, or when you get horny or excited too?’

Derek groans.

‘But seriously now, can you turn it off? Like, stop broadcasting through the bond?’

Derek groans, but it sounds somewhat affirmative.

‘You’re gonna have to teach me that.’

Derek humms.

‘So how do you have sex in a house full of werewolves?’

Derek groans.

Stiles waits a few seconds. ‘Shower jerk off sessions?’

Derek whimpers. ‘Fuck, you’re smart.’

Stiles laughs. ‘Oh god, that must be frustrating.’

Derek groans.

‘Can’t everyone else still smell it, though?’

Derek groans.

‘Oh god, you can smell when someone jerks off?’

Derek chuckles. Stiles is mortified.

‘No, no, nevermind, I’d rather live in denial. Let’s go back to the more pressing matter. Basically, none of you can bring anyone home.’

Derek groans. Again, it sounds a bit affirmative.

‘So, Laura and Isaac only have fun at his place.’

Derek gasps a bit, and it sounds like he’s terrified. Stiles laughs.

‘You know’, he runs his hand in Derek’s hair. ‘I used to wonder why you’re single.’

Derek glares. ‘Stop flirting with me.’

Stiles blushes, but he laughs. ‘Yeah, yeah, ok, I’m gonna stop. Sleep?’

‘Sleep’, Derek growls. Stiles is still giggling by the time he falls asleep.

⃝

Stiles goes to the school the next evening, wanting to redecorate his classroom. Derek is with him, carrying his boxes, sticking pictures on walls, chuckling over the stupid quotes Stiles wrote on them.

After they’re finished, they stay back a while longer, looking at the room. The janitor comes in. He doesn’t say anything, he just stares at Stiles.

‘Is there a problem?’, Stiles asks.

The janitor’s eyes flash green. Derek didn’t see it, apparently, because he didn’t react, he’s still reading some Shakespeare sonnet that’s hanging on the wall.

‘You have no idea what you are’, the janitor smiles.

‘You do?’, Stiles asks and stands in a defensive posture.

‘You’ll find out soon enough, Mister Stilinski. There are tough times ahead on you, young one. You’ll have to be strong.’ His eyes move to Derek, who’s ignoring everything. ‘Thankfully, you’re not alone.’

And he walks out of the room.

‘What the fuck?’, Stiles yells.

‘What?’, Derek asks, confused.

‘Did you not hear that?’

‘Hear what?’

‘You didn’t hear that.’, Stiles whispers.

‘Stiles, hear what?’

‘Well. Shit.’

⃝

They sleep at the Hale house that night. Stiles doesn’t say anything until he gets to bed. He looses is.

He feels like he’s going insane. He feels like something incredibly bad is going to happen, and he feels useless. And scared, so scared, he’s terrified. He feels like not even a pack of werewolves could save him. He doesn’t have a panic attack, just general panic towards the outside world.

He sleeps in Cora’s room. When he starts crying, Cora hugs him.

‘What happened?’, she asks.

‘Nothing.’

‘Why are you crying?’

‘I don’t know.’

She doesn’t say anything else.

One minute later, Laura and Derek come in the room. They don’t say anything either. Derek crawls into bed behind him, curling his hand over Stiles’ stomach, lips ghosting over his neck. Laura takes the spot next to Cora, running her fingers through Stiles’ hair.

Stiles eventually stops crying, and falls asleep in a bed full of warm werewolves.

⃝

When he wakes up, he’s alone in the bed. His head hurts a bit, but, thankfully, he feels rested. He washes up quickly, and goes to the kitchen.

‘Feeling better, cry baby?’, Laura smiles. It’s teasing, but it’s fond. They’re all sitting at the bar, coffee and cereal bowls in front of them.

Stiles makes his way to Cora and kisses her forehead. He smiles at Laura.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t!’, Derek warns and hands him a cup of coffee. ‘Just sit down and eat something. I may have skipped running for today, but we’re training outside later.’

Stiles groans. He’s ‘trained’ with Derek before, and it was horrible. As strong and fit as Stiles is, he’ll never be able to keep up with Derek’s werewolf abilities. Mostly, they fight. Yeah, Stiles sometimes manages to hold his own against Derek, but it’s an incredibly tiring task.

He sighs and starts eating his cereals.

When they’re all finished with breakfast, Laura abruptly turns her head towards the door.

‘Someone’s coming.’

‘Who?’, Stiles asks.

‘I don’t know, but I assume he or she is peaceful, considering they’re listening to Abba.’

Stiles snorts. ‘If I never hear an Abba song ever again, it will be too soon.’

‘I feel like there’s a story behind that.’, Derek smiles.

‘Deaton,-‘

‘The vet that Scott brought the clinic from?’, Cora interrupts.

‘Yeah, Scott worked for him all the way through high school and college. I used to hang out there sometimes, but man, it was horrible, because the guy didn’t listen to anything else but Abba. Don’t get me wrong, they’re an awesome piece of history, but enough is enough, nothing sounds good on repeat.’

Derek rolls his eyes and makes his way towards the door, just as someone knocks at it.

‘Yes?’, he asks, politely.

‘Derek, I assume.’, a man’s voice says. And Stiles yelps.

He runs towards the door, Laura and Cora following him with concerned expressions. He freezes when he sees who the man is, because of course it’s Deaton.

‘What are you doing here?’, he asks, frustrated. Derek frowns, but doesn’t say anything. Neither does Deaton.

‘You moved to Florida 6 years ago. What the hell are you doing back?’

‘I’m here on holiday, Stiles.’, Deaton smiles.

‘Now? You decided to go on a holiday, back in Beacon Hills of all places, now?’, Stiles is borderline screaming now, but he lowers his voice when Cora puts a hand on the back of his neck.

Deaton smiles and looks at him fondly. ‘I read your books. They were extremely interesting.’

‘Why are you here?’

‘You could say it was decided for me to be here.’

Stiles just stares.

Deaton looks at Laura and nods. ‘Laura Hale. I come in peace, I mean no harm to you or your pack, Alpha.’

‘Stiles, do you trust him?’, Laura asks.

‘More than I trust myself, at this point.’

Derek frowns, but Laura must have nodded, because he gets out the door way and lets Deaton in.

Five minutes later, they were in the living room, drinking coffee. Stiles was on the couch, Cora cuddling with him. He couldn’t stop staring at Deaton.

‘Well, doc, not that I’m not glad we’ve met you, but could you please start talking?’, Laura smiled, sarcastically.

Deaton returned the smile. ‘I am sorry, I know this must be an unusual situation you’ve been put in.’

‘Unusual?’, Stiles scoffed. ‘How about 10 years of impossible?’

The vet nodded. ‘I understand your life has taken quite the turn.’

‘What are you?’, Stiles was tired of beating around the bush.

‘A druid. As you predicted.’

‘Emissary?’

‘Not anymore.’

‘Ever had any connection to the Hales?’

Deaton’s eyes grew wider, but just for a split second. ‘No’, he answered evenly.

‘Then why are you here?’, Derek asked.

‘Over the past month, certain events that had happened in Beacon Hills had been brought to my attention.’

‘Like, what? A fey attacking me? Fairies kidnapping them? Banshees? Trolls? Fucking unicorns?’, Stiles gestured his arms frantically.

Deaton blinked. ‘You saw a banshee?’

‘Yeah, she was 12 and wearing a Winnie the Pooh t-shirt.’

The vet laughed.

‘It’s true’, Derek frowned.

Deaton stopped laughing. ‘It seems the situation is more dire than I suspected.’

Stiles sighed. ‘I always hated how mysterious you are.’

‘Look, Stiles. I am going to be honest with you. I don’t know what is happening.’

‘Then what do you know?’, Cora asked, and Stiles could tell she was annoyed.

‘I know that Stiles had a dream that became reality.’

‘It didn’t’, Derek frowned. ‘Not really.’

‘I understand that’, Deaton nodded. ‘But it’s been, as Stiles put it, impossible. And I know that things have grown difficult in the past week.’

‘And they’ll keep getting worse.’, Stiles said in a monotone voice.

Deaton looked at him for a few seconds. He nodded.

‘I don’t know what you are, Stiles’, he said, reading Stiles’ mind. ‘But I will keep looking for answers for you, you have my word.’

‘What’s coming?’

After saying that, they were all staring at him. He didn’t take his eyes off Deaton.

‘I don’t know’, the vet said.

‘But you’ll be here to help?’, Laura asked.

‘Yes, Alpha.’

‘Oh god, please stop calling me that. Laura, my name is Laura!’ She was blushing and Derek was biting his lip to keep from laughing.

Deaton smiles.

⃝

That night, Stiles went home. Derek followed. They ate pizza and watched a movie, but they didn’t talk much. Stiles couldn’t stop thinking.

He had no idea what was happening anymore. He was anxious because, somehow, he knows that something bad is about to happen. He feels unprepared and if he’s being true to himself, he’s not scared for his life. Not his. He’s afraid for his friends and he’s praying. He’s praying constantly, he hasn’t prayed till the moment his mother’s coffin was lowered to the ground. But now, he’s praying for safety, for the safety of his pack. He’s praying for answers.

He knows he’s not going to get them anytime soon.

He’s tired, but he knows he won’t be able to sleep. So Stiles takes a long shower and jerks off. Twice. He doesn’t usually do this, it’s not rushed and frantic like this. He usually imagines someone, but now, he can’t clear his head enough to do that. He comes silently, and washes himself thoroughly after.

When he goes to his bedroom, Derek is reading on the bed, but his face is flushed. Stiles figures he heard him jerking off, even with the shower on. He doesn’t seem to care that much at this point.

‘Don’t judge’, he smiles, as he makes his way in the room, putting down his glasses, setting his alarm. ‘I wouldn’t be able to sleep without… that. It’s not my fault you have super werewolf senses. Plus, you said the shower cancels things off. Not my fault you lied about that.’

Derek doesn’t look at him, and his face doesn’t lose his redness.

Stiles bites his lip and stops advancing toward the bed. ‘I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I can take the couch.’

‘No, no!’, Derek shakes his head and looks at him. ‘It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I get it, it’s fine. Go to sleep.’ He closes his book and gets under the covers.

Stiles shuts the light and joins him. ‘You can still read, if you want. The lamp on the nightstand doesn’t bother me.’

He turns with his back towards Derek and curls in on himself. He sees the lamp light and hears Derek picking up his book. Stiles falls asleep quickly.

⃝

He wakes up an hour later, his clock tells him. Derek still isn’t asleep, reading his book. He’s close to finishing it, Stiles notices.

Derek doesn’t say anything when Stiles gets out of bed and throws his t-shirt off, his dark blue boxer briefs being the only item of clothing left on him. He goes into the living room and turns on the tv, muting it and leaving it on a random station, using it just for its dim light.

Stiles pushes the coffee table near a wall, and rolls up the carpet underneath it. He starts his usual workout routine. He has 6 different types of moves he usually does, to work his legs, his hands, his abdomen, his back. He does 50 each. Then, he starts it again. And again. And again.

He works out until he can’t breathe properly anymore, limbs shaky and movements frantic. He doesn’t stop.

‘Why are you doing this?’, Derek’s voice comes from behind him. Stiles doesn’t turn, just keeps going.

‘I need to sleep.’

‘And exhausting yourself like this will help you sleep?’

‘Yes.’

‘Stiles, stop.’, Derek pleads, but he doesn’t touch him.

‘Just a bit more.’

‘Stiles, please.’ He’s closer now.

‘I can’t.’

‘Stiles.’               

Derek puts a hand on his shoulder, and that does it. Stiles falls to the ground and gasps for breath. Derek lets him regulate his breathing for a few minutes, then brings him a bottle of water. Stiles drinks it quickly, still on the floor.

After he’s done, Derek throws the bottle on the couch and lifts Stiles up, effortlessly.

‘I feel like I should point out that I’m not the lady in this relationship, but it hurts so much.’, Stiles whispers as he buries his face in Derek’s t-shirt. Derek doesn’t say anything.

He puts him gently in bed, and Stiles curls unto his side immediately. Next thing he knows, Derek’s also shirtless and kneeling in front of him, on the bed. He gently pushes Stiles, so that he’s on his back. Derek puts a hand on his stomach and one on his chest, closing his eyes.

Stiles can’t help but stare, as black veins start growing up on Derek’s hands.

‘I can’t believe you can do this.’, he whispers. He feels the pain leeching out of his body, but he still feels exhausted. After a few seconds, he drags his eyes from Derek’s hands to his face, and sees that he’s frowning. He remembers then, that when werewolves take the pain away like this, they feel it.

Stiles is feeling a lot better than minutes before, so he puts his hands around Derek’s wrists.

‘Stop.’ Derek doesn’t.

‘Babe, please stop, that’s enough.’

He does stop then, and removes his hands just a bit, but Stiles’ hands are still on his wrist. When he opens his eyes, Derek looks broken. He looks like Stiles feels.

‘I want to sleep.’, he whispers.

Derek nods and throws himself, rather ungraciously, next to Stiles. They get under the covers and Stiles glues his body to Derek’s. He’s sweaty and he stinks, but he can’t help but want to feel more of the heat that’s coming from Derek’s body. He’s holding on to Derek, hands on his shoulders, as Derek buries his face into Stiles’ neck, like he always does. Their legs are tangled and it feels like their heartbeats are in sync.

‘We’re going to be fine’, Derek whispers into Stiles’ neck.

‘You don’t know that.’

‘It will. I promise. Trust me.’

‘I need you to survive.’, Stiles whispers. He thinks, for a second, that Derek doesn’t get it, that Derek doesn’t realize it’s a quote.

But then, Derek shudders and holds on to him tighter. ‘I’m not letting you go.’

⃝

When Stiles wakes up, he screams. He screams and rumples the sheets in his fits, eyes closed tightly. He doesn’t even register Derek being there and saying his name, not until Derek puts his hands on either side of Stiles’ face.

‘Stiles, look at me, please just look at me.’

Stiles stops screaming. He opens his eyes and something inside him breaks when he sees the concerned way Derek is looking at him. He doesn’t let go of his face, and Stiles grabs one of his wrists and squeezes gently.

‘What happened?’, Derek asks.

‘What time is it?’, Stiles’ voice is hoarse.

‘Noon. I let you sleep in.’

‘We have to get to the house.’

After Stiles says it, his phone starts ringing, Pendulum’s [_Witchcraft_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogMNV33AhCY)blasting.

‘Laura’, he answers.

‘What happened?’, she sounds frantic. ‘Are you ok?’

‘Yeah, where are you?’

‘I’m at home, but Stiles, what happened? You were panicking and so scared.’

‘We’ll be there in 20. I’m fine, please stay inside.’ He gets off bed and heads towards the bathroom, to take a quick shower.

‘Ok, we’re all here.’

Stiles stops moving. ‘All?’

‘Yeah, the whole pack.’

‘Shit. Everybody came back home today.’

‘Yeah. They’re all here.’

‘Peter?’

‘Yes.’

‘Shit. Laura, I…’ He takes a big breath. ‘Everything’s going to be ok, but I beg of you, stay inside. And keep an ear out.’

‘Stiles, what’s-‘

‘Promise me, you’ll stay inside and be careful.’

‘You’re scaring me.’

Stiles sighs. ‘Everything will be ok. Just stay inside and wait for us.’

He hangs up, spares a glance at Derek, who’s looking scared and confused. He walks over to him, puts a hand on the back of his neck and kisses his forehead.

‘I have to shower quickly, and then we’ll go.’

‘What’s happening?’, Derek asks as he runs his hand up Stiles’ forearm.

‘I don’t know. But I promise you it will be all right. I promise.’

⃝

Derek doesn’t let Stiles drive, but he does speed all the way to his house. When they get there, Stiles runs to the door, but has to wait for Derek, because he’s the one with the key.

As they get in the living room, he ignores all his friends frantically asking him what’s happening. He does take Cora’s hand, but doesn’t really realize doing it.

‘Is Deaton here?’, Stiles asks Laura. That seems to shut everyone up.

‘Stiles, Deaton’s in Florida.’, Scott says, slowly.

Stiles closes his eyes.

‘No, he’s not.’, Laura tells him.

‘Have you heard from him? Anything?’

‘No.’

He lets out a long breath and lets go of Cora’s hand in order to get his phone out. He calls Deaton, who answers at the second ring.

‘Stiles.’

‘Are good omens real?’

There is a silence. ‘You could say that.’

‘So, bad omens are real too.’

‘Yes.’

‘When a banshee screams, does she scream before the killing happens, during, or after?’

‘It depends, there are different myths. But, usually, nowadays, they scream before the death, predicting it.’

Stiles says nothing.

‘You’re not a banshee, Stiles.’, Deaton says slowly.

‘I know. I’m something, though.’

‘I’m still looking, Stiles, but I-‘

‘I know. Thank you for doing that. Question. Is there a way for me to find mountain ash or wolfsbane in these woods?’

‘Not quickly. There is a wolfsbane batch growing on the north end of the Preserve. Stiles, what has happened?’

‘Nothing yet.’

‘But something is going to happen?’

‘Yeah, I assume so. Can druids use all kinds of magic, or is it just herbs?’

Deaton sighs. ‘We can’t do everything you’re thinking of, but we can do some things.’

Stiles nods. ‘But, in general, it’s mostly herbs and runes?’

‘Powerful druids can also cast spells.’

‘Are all emissaries powerful?’

‘No. Spells are hard to control.’

‘Okay. Thank you, Deaton. We’ll talk later. Scott says hi.’

‘Stiles, aren’t you going to tell me what is happening?’

‘No.’

After a beat, Deaton asks. ‘Why?’

‘You can’t help us, not right now. We’ll talk later, Deaton, thank you.’

Stiles hangs up. Everybody is staring at him, concerned and scared.

He looks at Laura. ‘You can’t hear anything? Anybody coming this way?’

‘No. What is happening?’, her eyes flash red.

Stiles moves closer to her.

‘Do you trust me?’

Laura blinks. ‘Yes. Why?’

‘I need you to trust me now.’

‘Stiles, yesterday you told us you don’t trust yourself.’, she sais slowly.

‘That’s not true anymore. I need you to trust me and I need you to promise me you won’t do anything stupid.’

Her eyes widen at that and she takes a step back.

‘Stiles, what is going on?’, Derek asks.

‘You’re scaring the living shit out of us’, Lydia ads.

Stiles flexes his fist. ‘Everything will be all right. I promise you. But, Laura, you have to trust me to do the right thing. You have to stand back and let me handle it.’

‘Handle what?’, she growls.

Stiles looks out the window. ‘Promise me.’

‘We trust you’, Derek says.

‘Promise’, Laura adds.

Stiles turns around and heads from the front door. ‘Good. You all need to be outside, but stay on the porch.’

⃝

He goes outside and climbs down the five stairs at the entrance of the house. Stiles stands tall, whole body tense, fists clenching, with his back to the porch, where all of his friends are standing.

‘I don’t hear anything’, Cora says.

‘It’s because they’re using magic to hide themselves.’

‘They?’, Derek asks, and Stiles can feel his anxiousness with every bone in his body.

He turns his head around and looks at them. At Cora and Derek, holding hands. At Laura, standing in front of Isaac, who has his hand on her hip. At Scott and Allison, who are looking at him like he’s insane. At Lydia and Danny, who look concerned. At Jackson, who looks scared. At Peter, standing a step in front of everyone, he’s the only one who has his claws already drawn.

‘Alphas.’

Just as Stiles says that, five figures appear from the trees. They’re running, incredibly fast, but they stop in a line, ten feet in front of Stiles.

Deucalion is standing in the middle, and, much to Stiles’ surprise, he isn’t blind. He’s smiling and looking straight at Laura. Kali is to his right, then Ennis, both of them looking excited, eyes roaming over everyone. On Deucalion’s left, Ethan and Aiden look bored.

Nobody says anything for a few seconds. Stiles takes a deep breath.

‘You are so not welcomed here.’, he says.

Deucalion raises an eyebrow.

‘Laura, my dear, you let one of your human pets speak for you?’

‘That’s Stiles Stilinski.’, Ethan says, as his eyes go wide.

‘The one who wrote those books you keep reading?’, Kali laughs.

Stiles smiles. ‘It’s always nice meeting a fan, Ethan.’

When surprise crosses their face, Stiles realize that he’s the only one in the pack who knows their names.

‘You are not welcome here, Deucalion. Leave.’

Tha Alpha blinks. ‘I may not be welcomed, boy, but I am here… on a mission, if you will.’, he smiles.

‘Yeah. And I know how it ends.’

Deucalion doesn’t say anything, but his smile falls, as he stares at Stiles.

‘How?’, Ethan asks.

Stiles looks at him and narrows his eyes. ‘I wrote some books based on a dream I had when I was 18. Now, I’m speaking for a pack of werewolves.’

Ethan’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t say anything more.

Stiles returns to Deucalion, who is still starring at him.

‘I don’t care why you’re here. If you want Laura to join you, if you want Peter to kill her and join you, if you want to kill us all, if you want to change us. I. Don’t. Care. You need to leave.’

Deucalion’s eyes flash, and Stiles hears Derek’s responding growl.

‘No human speaks to me like that.’

‘Good thing I’m not human, then.’, Stiles chuckles.

Deucalion visibly wavers at that. It starts raining.

It’s pouring and Stiles is cold. It only takes seconds for him to start shivering, his hands shaking. He’s wet and water is getting into his eyes. He’s scared. But there’s something else, he feels something else. Not through the bonds with his pack, not from his heart, but from deep inside his gut. He feels electricity, he feels static, he feels fire and ice. He feels strong.

It’s raining, but it’s not. Stiles is the one who’s making it rain.

He smiles.

Deucalion snarls. ‘Enough. We want Beacon Hills. You either run, or we kill you. All of you.’

‘I will protect this land.’, Stiles whispers.

‘Laura Hale’, Deucalion smiles. ‘Run. Or die.’

Laura comes down the stairs, and takes a place to Stiles’ left. Her eyes are glowing, but she doesn’t shift. Derek’s beside her and Cora and Peter come to Stiles’ right.

‘You have no right to this land’, Laura says.

‘You’re not running, then?’, Deucalion smiles. He flicks his hand out and draws his claws. ‘Good, we were itching for some blood.’

Stiles knows what’s about to happen. He feels it. He tries to scream, but he can’t. The Alphas aren’t moving. They’re taking their time shifting, they’re putting on a show. They growl and laugh, they flash their eyes and show off their claws. They lick heir fangs and pop their necks.

Stiles takes a big breath. He takes Cora’s hand in his.

‘I need you’, he whispers.

She doesn’t answer, but she squeezes his hand. Stiles feels everything in her touch. He feels love and hate and power. He feels Laura. And Derek, and Cora, and Scott and Allison, and Jackson and Lydia. Isaac, Danny, Erica. Peter. He feels the fire, and wind, and water. He feels the rain and the ground below him. He feels the sky and the clouds and the flowers and trees. He feels the fey, and the banshees and the unicorns. He feels the vampires and the mermaids. He feels his strength.

He’s vaguely aware of Cora screaming. He barely hears Laura, Derek and Peter growling.

All Stiles sees are the Alphas. He sees Deucalion, Ennis and Kali taking a step forward. He sees the twins hesitating. He sees Deucalion’s roar and he sees the excitement in his eyes. He sees Kali’s sight zeroing on Laura and he sees Ennis smile in Peter’s direction.

In complete sync, the three Alphas take half a step forward, leaving the twins behind. They’re fast, but Stiles is faster.

He grips Cora’s hand with all the force he can master and closes his eyes. When he opens them, Deucalion, Ennis and Kali are on the ground, screaming in pain. Lighting hit them, and the smell of burned flesh is too much, even for Stiles.

Their screaming stops, and Deucalion rises to his feet. His eyes are flashing and his fangs are dripping blood.

‘You will regret doing that, Stiles Stilinski.’

‘Run or die.’, Stiles whispers. His voice sounds foreign.

‘Get up’, Deucalion tells his two pack mates. ‘You’ll heal. Get up and kill them!’

Stiles takes another deep breath and Cora starts screaming again. This time, he doesn’t close his eyes. He sees the three bolts of lighting, he sees them hit the wolves in the head. He sees them convulsing and screaming in pain. He controls the lighting, keeps it in place until they’re not moving anymore.

The second the lighting disappears, Ethan and Aiden crumble to the floor. They’re holding their heads in their hands and they’re screaming. They’re not shifted, and the screams sound utterly human and completely desperate.

Stiles stops the rain. They stop screaming. So does Cora. Everything is eerily silent, he can hear his own heartbeat in his throat. Stiles can hear Allison and Lydia crying in the background. He can feel Derek’s eyes on him, can feel his surprise and disappointment. For some reason, that’s what hurts.

‘Are they dead?’, he asks, eyes still on the bodies.

Nobody answers.

‘Laura, are they dead?’, he says, with a bit more power.

‘They’re dead’, she sounds surprised. She takes a step forward towards the bodies, but Stiles grabs her wrist and stops her.

Stiles guides petals of wolfsbane over the three Alphas and ignites them. The fire burns rapidly, faster than it’s possible, it moves as fast as Stiles needs it. After 30 seconds, there isn’t anything left.

Stiles lets go of Cora and Laura’s hands. He makes his way towards the twins. ‘Get up.’, he tries to be confident, but he sounds defeated.

The twins look at him with fear.

‘Please, Ethan, Aiden, get up.’

They struggle a bit, but they managed to hold themselves together. They holding on to one another, and they’re tense, like they want to start running, but they’re afraid to.

‘He was controlling you, wasn’t he?’

Ethan nods.

‘Kali and Ennis too?’, Stiles asks.

‘No. They were doing his bidding willingly.’ Aidan explains.

‘Thank you’, Ethan says. It’s whispered and it’s gentle, and Stiles knows it’s true.

Stiles chuckles. His voice still sounds foreign to him. ‘I just killed three people. With lighting. I just killed your pack and you’re thanking me?’ He feels exhausted, he’s sure he’s on the verge of throwing up and he feels so utterly guilty. He’s back to feeling week, because his father always said that strong people don’t kill.

‘No’, Ethan shakes his head. ‘Don’t. Don’t feel guilty about this. You didn’t kill three people, you saved your pack. They were going to kill you all. You saved them. And everyone they were going to kill in the future.’

‘I am sorry for your loss.’, Stiles says, and both twins frown. ‘I know Kali was your friend’, he told Aidan.

‘What are you?’, is his answers.

Stiles smiles and takes a step back. ‘I have no idea. You should leave now. You’re free.’

They nod and start walking backwards.

‘You’ll never hear from us again.’, Aiden tells Laura.

She nods. ‘I don’t mind hearing from you, unless it’s death threats.’

Aiden smiles and starts running. Ethan follows.

Stiles turns towards his pack. They’re all watching him, with various looks of confusion and awe. Cora looks at him like he’s a miracle. He can’t help but smile at her.

He can’t look at Derek, so he turns to Laura. She looks softly at him, but it looks like pity.

‘I am so sorry.’, he whispers.

Laura shakes her head. ‘You saved us. It doesn’t matter, you saved us.’

Stiles smiles. ‘It’s over’. He feels revealed and exhausted. He blinks and the world starts spinning.

‘Shit.’                                     

The last thing he sees before passing out is Derek rushing towards him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm, I know this looks really weird right now. But I promise I'll answer questions in next chapter. I think it's going to be the last one. Maybe an Epilogue after, I'm not sure yet. Hope you enjoyed :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, I apologize it took me so long. But, you know, Teen Wolf mis-season finale feels got in the way. I don't feel like this chapter is as good as the first 9, but it does get my point across and I'm happy for that.   
> Secondly, I love each and every one of you. Thank you for reading this and for always giving be feedback. You guys, you're amazingly awesome and you deserve ALL THE HUGS. Thank you!

When Stiles wakes up, he doesn’t scream. He’s crying, he remembers what he was dreaming about, but he feels like he’s happy. He feels relieved and rested. He’s never felt this good in years. It’s weird, he knows it’s weird. But this is Stiles’ life now. Weird feelings and supernatural beings.

He opens his eyes and sees that he’s in Derek’s room. He sees the dark grey sheets, the old, oak desk under the wide window, the pile of books stacked near the bed, the pair of jeans thrown in front of the dresser, the three empty cups of coffee on the windowsill, the Beatles – Here comes the sun poster.

Stiles smiles and gets out of bed, realizing he isn’t wearing any clothes except for his boxers.  He shuffles around Derek’s dresser and manages to find a pair of shorts that don’t fall completely off his hips and a t-shirt.

He goes downstairs, and the whole pack is in the living room, even Deaton. They all stare, but nobody says anything. Cora jumps off the couch and hurries towards him, but she stops 3 feet from him, with her hands in front of her, like she wants to hug him, but she’s scared. Stiles smiles and takes the last steps towards her, bringing her close to his chest. Her hands wrap around his waist and she grips on the back of his t-shirt.

Stiles laughs, but doesn’t let go. ‘You know, all my life I hated the fact that I remembered all my dreams when I woke up.’

‘You had another dream?’, Scott asks.

Stiles nods and lets go of Cora, but he takes her hand and guides her to the couch, sitting next to Derek. He looks at Deaton and winks.

‘Figured it out yet, doc?’

Deaton blinks. ‘No. Have you?’

‘Oh yeah. It’s a wild one.’

Jackson leans forward from his spot on a chair in front of Stiles. ‘Are you ok?’, he sounds pissed.

‘Yeah, how long was I out?’

‘Two hours. You were out for two hours after you controlled lighting and rain and wolfsbane and fire and killed three powerful alpha werewolves.’, Jackson ends up shouting. ‘How did you do that? Why did you do that? Can you do it again?’

Stiles chuckles. He looks at Laura. ‘I should apologize.’

‘No, you shouldn’t.’, she shakes her head.

‘I should, I really should. But I’m not going to. I’m not sorry for disrespecting your authority in the pack and I am not sorry for what I did. I could have handled it better, yes, but I can’t be sorry for the blood on my hands. Because if I wouldn’t have done it, it would have been your blood. All our blood on their claws.’

Laura’s eyes flash red, but it’s not in anger. ‘Stiles, by now, I’m pretty sure we owe you our lives. However, you better fucking start talking, because if I don’t get some answers soon, I’m going to go and kill me a Bambi.’

‘Don’t kill Bambi!’, Scott waves his hands around.

Stiles laughs and takes a deep breath. ‘Ok. I’ll start with last night.’

‘What happened last night?’, Cora asks, taking hold of his hand.

Stiles talked slowly and evenly, but he couldn’t look at them. He bowed his head and looked at his fingers, intertwined with Cora’s.

‘It was a dream, but it was different than before. It’s wasn’t… concrete, detailed. I just saw them, the Alphas. I saw them in front of the house, but that’s it. I didn’t see why they were here, or what was about to happen. I just knew they were going to be here. And I knew ...’, he takes a big breath. ‘I felt that it wasn’t going to end well. I felt scared, but I also felt powerful. I didn’t understand it. I woke up screaming, but when I… when Derek stopped me, I… that power came back again. I knew I had to do something, I knew I _could_ do something. But I didn’t know what.’

‘That’s not a bad omen’, Deaton frowns.

Several people ask for explanations.

‘Stiles called me asking if good and bad omens are real. This… this wasn’t an omen. It was a premonition’, Deaton says it like he’s just figuring it out now.

‘Yeah’, Stiles nods. ‘Let’s go with premonition, why not?’

‘That doesn’t explain your powers’, Lydia frowns.

Stiles looks at her, surprised. ‘Huh’, he says. ‘Powers. I never thought about that.’

‘Stilinski’, Jackson rolls his eyes. ‘You controlled lightning! You have powers coming out your ass. What is up with you, did your brain stop working?’

Stiles narrowed his eyes. ‘I’m trying to explain how I have magic, could you stop being an ass for like 5 minutes?’

Jackson’s jaw drops. ‘Magic?’

Stiles shrugs. ‘It appears so.’

‘It’s clearly magic.’, Deaton nods and everybody turns towards him. ‘What I’m curios to find out is what sort of magic.’

Stiles bites his lip. ‘I’m not 100% sure, only about 80%, but judging by… what I felt, it is something connected to… uhm…’

‘Elements?’, Deaton narrows his eyes.

‘Yeah, I guess that’s the easiest way to explain it.’

‘Easiest?’, Scott asks. ‘How is that the easiest? It makes no sense.’

Stiles smiles at his best friend. ‘Think about it. What I did… rain, and lighting. Wolfsbane and fire.’

‘Air, Earth, Fire and Water.’, Derek says in a voice Stiles recognizes as his thinking out loud voice. ‘The four elements.’

Deaton nods. ‘Classical elements. Philosophers believe that they are the simplest essential parts of which anything consists of. They say the fundamental powers of everything are based on them.’

‘What about the fifth element?’, Lydia asks, absently.

‘That’s a movie.’, Derek frowns.

‘A bad one’, Jackson mumbles.

‘A good movie.’, Derek correct.

‘Lydia is right’, Deaton smiles. ‘Later on, _aether_ is defined as the fifth element, the essence of all. The first four are corruptible, whereas _aether_ is incapable of change.’

‘I don’t follow. How does any of this explain to us that Stiles is magic?’, Lydia frowns.

‘It’s easy to say that druids work with the elements, controlling them for their purpose. Yeah, at the base of it all stand the oak and the mistletoe for them, but as the times changed, the druids adapted themselves. Right?’, Stiles turns towards Deaton.

‘That is fairly accurate, yes.’

‘So you’re a druid.’, Laura says, slowly.

‘Yup.’, Stiles blinks. ‘Ish.’

Everybody is silent for a few beats.

‘Can you be an emissary?’, Derek asks.

Stiles can’t help but smile. ‘If needed.’

Deaton leans in his seat and frowns. ‘Stiles, I’m sorry to tell you this, but I don’t-‘

‘You don’t believe me, I know.’

‘It’s not that I don’t believe you. I just don’t see how… we’re different, Stiles. Our… powers are different.’

‘I know’, Stiles smiles.

‘Why do you think you’re a druid, then?’, Laura asks, frustrated.

‘Not a druid, exactly.’

Laura throws her hands in the air, as Jackson throws a pillow at his head. Stiles laughs.

‘Stiles, you’ve lost me.’, Deaton frowns.

‘Sorry.’, he laughs. ‘I’m still getting my head around this and it’s a bit confusing.’

‘Stop babbling and start talking.’, Allison says, exasperated.

Stiles nods and takes a deep breath. ‘I have magic by controlling the elements, that much is clear. That still doesn’t explain the dreams, the premonitions, or the bond I have with this pack or why every supernatural creature in a 20 miles radius acknowledges my existence.’

He sits up straighter and squeezes Cora’s hand. ‘I was out for two hours and I had another dream. It was different, though. It started with...’, he frowns. ‘Nothing happened. There was no… plot. I just… It made me understand what I am.’

He chuckles. ‘The word _witch_ kept popping up, and that sounds ridiculous, because I’m an English teacher, born and raised in California, for fucks sake. But, putting that aside… In European folklore it is believed that some witches called certain… supernatural entities to assist them in practice.’

Deaton’s eyes widen in understanding. ‘Familiars?’, he whispers.

‘Familiars’, Stiles nods.

‘What’s a familiar?’, Isaac asks.

‘Mom used to tell us stories about familiars.’, Laura frowns. ‘When we were little.’

‘They were fairytales.’ Derek shakes his head. ‘Even for us.’

‘You were our fairytales, Allison smiles. ‘It’s only fair your bed time stories become real too.’

‘What’s a familiar?’, Isaac asks again.

‘The lore pictured them as being evil spirits, appearance varying in different sources.’, Stiles explains. ‘Witches used them to get more power, when in need. Of course, it’s folklore, so it’s not precise. Some of it describes familiars as evil things, some as good spirits. Their form varies from source to source, either being an animal, a human, a ghost, a demon, just a ray of colors, a doppelgänger.’

‘Alter ego, personal totem, companion spirit.’, Deaton said, and Stiles could see he was struggling to remember details.

‘Yes’, Stiles smiles. ‘Companion spirit.’

‘So, a witch has only one familiar?’, Lydia asks.

‘At a certain point, yes. But the witch can have more than one familiar in his lifetime.’, Stiles nods.

‘And how do you figure out who your familiar is?’, Laura frowns.

‘You don’t figure it out. There seems to be different ways of meeting your familiar, or so the lore says. There’s three possibilities: the spirit spontaneously appears in front of the witch, someone gifts it to you or…’, Stiles smiles. ‘Or the witch was having trouble before the appearance of the familiar, who offers to help him.’

‘That is your case?’, Deaton asks.

‘It seems like it.’

Everybody is silent for a few moments, and it’s Danny who breaks the silence, with a smile on his face.

‘Is Derek your familiar?’

Stiles frowns.

‘Why would you ask that?’, Derek shakes his head.

Danny’s smile falls. ‘I… Uhm. _Teen Wolf_?’, he frowns.

But before Derek has a chance to answer, Stiles smiles.

‘No, it’s not Derek. Cora’s my familiar.’, he smiles.

‘I am?’, she whispers.

‘You are, sweetie. You said it yourself, you felt something for me the moment you saw me. You couldn’t explain it. And me… I loved you since the second you walked into my classroom. Hell, I loved you even before that.’

‘What about us?’, Derek asks in a small voice, after a beat. His brows are furrowed and Stiles can see he is sad.

Stiles smiles at him. ‘My connection with Cora is strong. And so is yours, being pack at all. I think it extended, at some level, to you too.’

‘But’, Laura frowns. ‘We felt it even before Cora met you, we felt it in New York.’

‘Yeah. I dreamt _Teen Wolf_ when I was 18. Cora was 8 at the time. Your parents died then.’

‘But, Stiles’, Deaton argues. ‘A familiar is there to help the witch. Not the other way around. You’re saying that this happened because of Cora’s distress? That’s not right.’

‘Yeah, no. You’re right, the familiar goes to the witch’s help. And I needed help then. I was terrified.’, Stiles laughs.

‘You were?’, Scott asks, in a sad voice.

Stiles smiles at his best friend. ‘Yeah, dude, I was completely terrified. I was scared of leaving home, leaving you, all of you. My dad. I… I was going to go to college and step completely out of my comfort zone, knowing that I am addicted to you and that you guys were the only thing that made me function properly for years.’

‘So, yeah, Deaton, to answer your question. Cora came to me, not the other way around. In theory. Truth is, we both needed each other, but yeah, she was the one who started helping me. Kinda. Because of her, I dreamt what I did. And yeah, it took me a while to write _Teen Wolf,_ and that helped me a lot, those years I wasn’t home. It also took her a while to move to Beacon Hills and cope with… everything. It took us a while. But… it happened, we found our way to each other.’

Cora wraps his arms around his waist and puts her face on his shoulder. She’s smiling. And so is everyone else, but Stiles doesn’t see them.

‘That’s why you needed my help? With the alphas? That’s why I was screaming?’, she looks up at him.

‘Yeah. I couldn’t have done that without you, without the power you gave me.’

‘But why?’, Laura shakes her head. ‘Why is Cora your familiar? You kept saying they’re spirits. She’s not a spirit.’

‘No, she’s a werewolf. A shapeshifter. Half human, half wolf. As I said, witches adapted.’

‘So you’re a witch.’, Scott says slowly, looking into Stiles’ eyes.

‘A bit, yeah.’

‘You have magic.’, Isaac adds.

‘I can access it, yeah.’

‘Cora increases your powers.’, Lydia nods.

‘Obviously.’

‘And because she’s your familiar, you bonded with my pack too.’, Laura nods.

‘It seems so.’

‘And it extended to the rest of your friends because….?’, she narrows his eyes.

‘Because’, Deaton says, pointedly. ‘They’ve been connected for ten years and you can’t have one without the others.’

They all stare.

‘Don’t look at me like that, you know it’s true. Stiles, you’ve said it yourselves. You’re all addicted to each other, even though you’re an impossible match. You already had a profound bond, even before adding werewolves, magic and familiars to the equation.’

‘And that’s not about to change’, Stiles smiles. ‘I’ve seen something else, too. It was short, and I won’t say too much about it, because I’m not sure I should be giving out spoilers, but we’re still going to come here, watch tv and get drunk.’

‘What about me?’, Peter asks, surprising everyone.

‘What about you?’, Stiles raises an eyebrow. He shrugs. ‘You’re pack, I feel you the same way I feel Laura and Derek and Cora. You said that you felt it too, towards me and everyone else.’

‘No, I mean… I’m here because of you, aren’t I? I wouldn’t have found them if it weren’t for you.’

Stiles smiles. ‘It’s not exactly like that. I think you made your way here because my relationship with Cora developed and that …’ he bites his lip. ‘That releases a sort of power into the world? Ugh, that sounds like some serious hippy shit, but it’s true. I’m connected to Cora and I’m connected to the elements. Witches having familiars isn’t something you come across very often. Not anymore. And us… happening. It’s a powerful thing. It drew all those creatures close, close to me. Banshees, vampires, unicorns, fairies. It also drew you closer. The pull was stronger than with the others, and it happened faster because you’re family.’

‘Should I thank you?’, Peter frowns after a few seconds.

Stiles narrows his eyes. ‘We both know the day you thank me will be the day Hell freezes over.’

They glare at each other for a few seconds, then they burst out laughing.

Erica, who has been uncharacteristically silent throughout the discussion, gets off her chair and moves towards Stiles, lifting him off the couch and giving him a bone crushing hug.

‘Yer a wizard, Harry’, she deadpans.

Derek groans. Everybody starts laughing.

⃝

Everybody stayed at the Hale house late that night. But when they were all gone, Cora didn’t let Stiles leave. He didn’t mind. So he went to bed in her room, cuddling with Laura and Derek too. He felt warm and loved, so he giggled and whispered ‘puppy pile’. The girls laughed, while Derek glared. Stiles fell asleep feeling safe.

He didn’t dream anything.

When Stiles wakes up, he’s on his stomach, on the side of the bed that’s near the wall. There’s also something heavy on top is him. It takes him a while, but he realizes Derek is sprawled on top of his back. He’s snoring lightly, and his stubble is tickling the back of Stiles’ neck.

Stiles slowly turns his head around, and sees that Laura is awake on the other side of the bed, and is watching him with an amused expression. Cora’s also awake, but she isn’t in bed anymore, she’s sitting on the floor next to it, straightening her hair. When she catches Stiles’ eye, she winks.

‘Derek’, Stiles whispers.

No response.

‘Derek’, he says louder.

No response.

‘Derek, Derek, Derek, Derek.’

The werewolf grunts, but doesn’t get off. He does move his head until his nose is buried in Stiles’ neck.

‘Derek, get off.’

No response.

‘Derek, Derek, Derek, come on, get off, Derek, Derek, Derek, babe, get off, Dereeeeeeeek.’

Laura falls off the bed with a loud thump.

Derek mumbles and groans, but he does get off Stiles and takes Laura’s place on the bed.

‘Why are you on the floor?’, he asks, but his eyes are still closed.

‘He called you babe!’, Laura says a bit louder than normal, eyes wide.

She looks at Stiles. ‘You called him babe!’

‘No I didn’t.’, he frowns.

‘Yes you did!’, Laura waves her hands around.

‘You totally did’, Cora adds.

‘Uhm…’, Stiles feels himself blush.

‘S’okay’, Derek slurs. He yawns and rubs at his eyes. ‘You’ve been doing it for months.’

‘Have not!’, Stiles puffs.

‘Yeah you have.’ Derek gets off the bed and goes towards the door. ‘You just don’t realize you’re doing it.’

Stiles watches him leave the room with a frown on his face. When his brain starts working again, he turns towards the girls. Cora’s still straightening her hair, but she’s looking at him with a smirk on her face. Laura, on the other hand, who is still on the floor, is staring at him with wide eyes and her jaw dropped.

Stiles groans and buries his head under a pillow.

⃝

Oddly enough, things go back to normal after that. Well, as normal as it can be in a werewolf pack.

They all get together at the Hale house, watch movies, eat, drink and have fun. People are still dating and close friends are still hanging out on their own. They all went back to work, except Stiles, who still has a few weeks of summer left. Random supernatural being still announce their presence, one way or another, but they aren’t threatening the pack anymore.

And Stiles’ life has changed. Drastically. Yes, he still has dinner with his father once a week. Yes, he still goes running with Derek in the morning, or trains with him when he has the time. Yes, he still spends his free time reading and sleeping, until school starts. Yes, he’s still in love with Derek. Yes, he’s still struggling with the curriculum for the next year.

But his connection with Cora has never felt this strong. Not only do they feel what the other feels if they concentrate, but they can anticipate what the other is thinking. It’s just small things, like Stiles knowing Cora is going to get thirsty, or Cora knowing what movie Stiles wants to watch. It feels incredibly weird to Stiles, but he considers it the best thing that ever happened is his life.

Derek doesn’t sleep over every night. In fact, they hardly ever sleep in the same house anymore. Stiles pretends it doesn’t matter, that he doesn’t miss Derek’s sleepy cuddles or morning face. Stiles pretends it doesn’t hurt.

Deaton becomes Stiles’ mentor. He’s only staying in town till the start of school, so they meet as often as possible. He doesn’t exactly teach Stiles how to use his powers. They never practice anything. Deaton gives him books that explain what he has to do, what he should be thinking and concentrating on. He explains things like meditation, outer body experiences and a whole lot of other stuff. Stiles jokes and calls them ‘hippy shit’, but the truth is, they help. He doesn’t seem to need anything to do magic. No spells, no herbs, no runes. Stiles just needs the elements, his imagination and the belief that he can do it. But he can’t control the dreams, the premonition. He tried to make himself dream, but with no success. He still has dreams sometimes, but nothing big. Small glimpses, him and Scott shopping for a baby crib, Cora’s graduation, Lydia’s 30th birthday. Nothing major, but he makes sure not to tell the pack about them, just to be safe.

Stiles is strong with his magic, he realizes that. It should scare him, but it doesn’t. He’s confident in his powers, but not enough to get cocky. He studies and trains by himself, and he gets better. The pack’s proximity helps. Not even just the wolves, Stiles will be more powerful around the human members, too. But when Cora is around, he feels it spike up. And so does she. Cora learned how to control herself, she doesn’t scream anymore when Stiles uses the power she gives him. Also, they don’t need to touch anymore.

Stiles’ magic is strong, but Stiles is powerful when Cora’s there. They’re quite the force together. The first time he showed the pack what he can do, he managed to fight off Laura, Derek and Peter easily, to everyone’s surprise. Deaton looked proud, and Stiles couldn’t help but feel proud too.

He doesn’t feel useless anymore. He’s not scared. He knows that whatever is thrown at him, he can strike back. Stiles is happy knowing he can take care of himself, and that he can take care of his pack. Laura seemed to understand him perfectly, considering how she would randomly say ‘thank you’ to him. Stiles just shakes his head and hugs her.

⃝

‘Stiles, are you happy?’, Laura asks one day. It’s just the two of them, sitting on the porch of the Hale house, on the steps. Derek’s driving Cora into town for a date with Drew, and Stiles is waiting for him to get back so they can go for a run.

‘I am. Surprisingly so. Are you happy?’

‘Yes, but I don’t want to talk about me.’ She lays down and puts her head in Stiles’ lap.

‘Well, I am happy.’, Stiles runs her fingers through her hair, without even noticing it. ‘Why shouldn’t I be?’

‘Don’t you feel that something’s missing?’

Stiles frowns. ‘Not really? I feel like I have everything I need in my life.’

‘But do you have everything you _want_?’

‘Laura, what is this about? Is this about the pack? Or-‘

‘No, this is about you.’, she says softly. ‘You’re happy, I know you are, I can feel it. But I know you could be happier. And you deserve it, Stiles.’

‘I don’t really know what you’re talking about.’

Laura sighs. ‘When was the last time you went on a date?’

Stiles blinks a couple of times. ‘Granted, it’s been a while, but I don’t… It doesn’t matter.’

‘It does matter.’

‘Not right now, it doesn’t.’, Stiles shrugs.

‘Can I cut the bullshit and be frank with you?’, Laura stands up and rolls her eyes.

‘Please’, Stiles chuckles.

‘I want to make sure you know that it doesn’t matter who you date. I… we… We don’t care if you date someone out of the pack. We don’t care if he doesn’t know our secret. And your secret. We don’t care if you date a stranger. I’m sure that when you find someone, in time you’ll tell him everything and we’ll all be ok with it. As your friends, and me, as your Alpha.’

Stiles stares at her, jaw dropped. ‘Laura, I swear to god… The thought you not approving my dates didn’t even cross my mind.’, he shakes his head. ‘I know.’

‘Good’, she smiles. ‘Now, that being said, do you think you will ever man up and do something about Derek?’

Stiles swallows. ‘What about Derek?’

She narrows her eyes. ‘About the fact that you’re in love with him.’

Somehow, Stiles knew this was coming. He knew someone would figure it out, sooner or later. He just expected it to be Cora. He doesn’t say anything; he can’t say anything, because Laura will know he’s lying. So he shrugs, gets off the stairs, and lies on the grass at the bottom of them, looking at the sky.

Laura sighs. ‘Stiles.’

‘No.’

‘I think you should-‘

‘No.’

‘I know you-‘

‘No.’

‘Stiles’, she whispers.

‘No.’

‘Stiles.’, she growls. He wasn’t even looking at her, but he knows her eyes flashed red.

‘Laura, you know I love you. And I know you love your brother. But this isn’t any of your business.’

She smiles. ‘Yeah, you’re right. It’s your business. Which you’re ignoring. The both of you.’

Stiles looks at her then. ‘Both of us?’, he thinks. But he doesn’t want to think about it, he doesn’t want hope, the blind hope that there’s a chance for him and Derek to be together.

Stiles hears Derek’s car getting closer on the drive way so he smiles at Laura. ‘Not any of your business.’

A minute later, when Derek gets out of the car and starts stretching, like he does before every run, he smiles at Stiles.

‘What’s not Laura’s business?’

‘My sex life.’, Stiles deadpans. Derek stills, body bent forward and hands behind his back. He’s staring at the ground.

‘Or, you know, lack thereof’, Stiles chuckles.

Derek looks up at him then, body still in the same position. He’s frowning slightly, and the tips of his ears are red. ‘Do I want to know?’, he fake whispers.

Stiles winks. ‘Maybe when you’re a bit older.’

Laura laughs, but it sounds a bit strained. Derek shoots her a questioning look, but she shakes her head.

‘No, you know what, no, I regret everything, I never want to know about Stiles’ sex life, or about your sex life, for that matter.’

Derek blinks. ‘Ok? I don’t want to know about your sex life… either?’, he looks utterly confused, so it comes out as a question.

Laura nods and gets back into the house, wishing them a good run.

‘What was that about?’, Derek glares at Stiles, who has been silently laughing for some time now.

‘She had an idea. It was a bad idea. I convinced her to forget about the bad idea.’, Stiles explains, moving his hands around.

Derek sighs. ‘She tried to set you up with someone, didn’t she?’

‘Something like that.’, Stiles nods. ‘Does she do that often?’

‘She tries to’, Derek mumbles.

‘Oh man’, Stiles beams. ‘I bet you went on a lot of bad blind dates for her sake, didn’t you?’

Derek nods, resigned. ‘Never again.’

‘Were they bad guys?’

‘They weren’t bad. They just weren’t for me.’, Derek shrugs, then narrows his eyes at him. ‘You’re thinking about taking her up on her offer?’

Stiles thinks a bit, about how to phrase the answer so Derek doesn’t pick up a lie. ‘No, I’m not going to go on blind dates that Laura sets.’

Derek chuckles. ‘You know, you’re really fucking smart.’

‘Thank you?’

‘I hate it.’

‘What? Why?’, Stiles frowns.

‘I know what you’re doing. Carefully phrasing your answers so that I don’t catch you lying.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’, Stiles grins, after a beat.

‘I’ve never actually met a human able to do that. Not without someone explaining it to him, anyway.’, Derek’s still smiling.

‘Good thing I’m not completely human, then.’, Stiles shrugs. ‘And on that note, catch me, Big Bad Wolf’.

He starts running towards their favorite trail, but he knows how hard Derek’s rolling his eyes.

⃝

When Stiles went to bed that night, he felt exhausted. His head hurt, his heart ached, his muscles were sore. But he couldn’t fall asleep.

He kept thinking about Derek. Stiles tried to find reasons to tell him the truth, to tell him how he felt, but he couldn’t find any. Nothing he thought of felt strong enough to make him take the step towards Derek. He wanted to, he wanted to badly.

He wanted to kiss Derek, and hug him. He wanted to watch tv with him, and cook for him. He wanted to come home after a long day at work and have a hot shower with Derek. He wanted to kiss every part of his body, he wanted to trace the triskele tattoo with his tongue, his scars with his fingertips. He wanted to make Derek moan and he wanted to make him smile. He wanted to take Derek to dinner with his father. He wanted to hold his hand while they go grocery shopping. He wanted to buy him cheesy presents for Valentine’s day, he wanted to wear his clothes to bed and bring him coffee in the morning.

Stiles wanted to do everything with Derek. Stiles wanted to do anything with Derek, anything he could have. So he couldn’t risk what we had with Derek now. He wasn’t strong enough to risk losing him. ‘I’ll take what I can’, Stiles thought. ‘I want him, in any way possible.’

He couldn’t sleep. In the end, after a few hours of tossing and turning, he quickly drank two glasses of whisky and fell asleep.

⃝

Stiles was sitting at the bar, in the Hale house kitchen. He had his laptop opened and a cup of hot coffee to his right. He was writing the ending to his next novel, the last in a series of 5 books.

It was still early in the morning, and the light in the room was diffuse, making everything glow a bit. Stiles always liked writing in the mornings. Even if he hated waking up early, it seemed that his best chapters were written before anyone else in the house woke up. The kitchen was chilly, it always was in a house where werewolves lived, so Stiles had to wear one of Derek’s hoodies and  pair of fluffy socks.

He figured he had another 2-3 hours of silence, before Derek woke up. Cora was sure to sleep more, considering she was at a party the night before, and Laura was sleeping at Isaac’s.

Stiles took a sip of his coffee and went over his last paragraph. It was good, Stiles liked it, he was pleased with these books. He liked them more than _Teen Wolf_ , and that said a lot, considering where _Teen Wolf_ brought him, in a big house surrounded by friends, love, and magic. These new books were an instant hit with the readers, but even if they still revolved around the supernatural life, with werewolves in the center of it all, they were completely different than _Teen Wolf_. They were pure fiction, nothing Stiles dreamt, nothing that will happen. Just his imagination.

He was surprised to hear footsteps down the stairs, and he didn’t need to turn around to see it was Derek. The pack bond he had with him was stronger now, almost as strong as the one he had with Cora. He smiled as Derek put his hands around his waist and buried his nose behind Stiles’ ear.

‘I hate waking up with you not there.’, Derek mumbled.

‘I have to finish this, babe. And you know mornings are the best for me.’

Stiles turned his head around to kiss Derek, raising his hand around the back of Derek’s neck. After a few seconds, Derek stopped kissing him, but didn’t move. As he talked, his lips were brushing against Stiles’, and he hugged him tighter.

‘You better give me a good ending to the book then, if I have to put up with our bed being half empty.’

‘Yes, Master. Good ending, roger that. Will do.’

‘Nobody dies.’

‘Let’s not get hasty.’, Stiles chuckled.

Derek sighed and moved his head, placing it between Stiles’ neck and shoulder.

‘Just make it good.’

‘Don’t I always?’, Stiles smiled and ruffled Derek’s hair.

Derek let go of him and made his way towards the coffee maker, pouring himself a cup. He took a seat at the bar, across from Stiles.

He starts writing again, but only with his right hand. Stiles stretches his left one towards Derek, who grips it tightly, without saying anything.

They stand like that in silence for a few minutes, Stiles typing away, and Derek enjoying his coffee.

‘I love you.’, Stiles says.

Derek smiles, but doesn’t look at him. ‘More than coffee?’

‘More than coffee.’

‘More than pizza?’

‘More than pizza.’

‘More than sex?’

‘More than sex with anyone else but you.’

‘More than Cora?’

‘Differently than Cora.’

‘More than magic?’

‘More than magic.’

‘More than Star Wars?’

‘More than the new Star Wars.’

‘I hate you.’, Derek chuckles.

‘I know.’

‘Can we get married?’

Stiles laughs. ‘Not without your sisters having a meltdown about bridesmaids dresses. Groomsmaids? Can we have that if it’s two men?’

‘I’m serious.’

Stiles looks up and his eyes widen when he sees the determined expression on Derek’s face.

‘Really?’

‘Yes.’, Derek nods. ‘Marry me.’

Stiles closes his laptop and stares at Derek.

‘I love you more than I thought it was possible.’, Stiles says, gripping Derek’s hand tighter.

‘I love you enough to spend the rest of my life in cheesy declarations and stupid gifts.’

Stiles smiles and his heart is beating fast, and he can’t move or say anything.

‘You didn’t give me an answer.’, Derek smiles, after a while.

‘No.’

‘No?’, Derek frowns.

‘I can’t marry you.’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t think my heart could take it.’, Stiles laughs. ‘I’d have a heart attack.’

Derek laughs too. ‘Take a chance?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yes’, Stiles smiles and lifts himself over the bar, grabbing at Derek’s t-shirt.

They kiss, enthusiastically and frantically, with the bar between them, coffee cups long forgotten.  They kiss like they always kiss, like it’s the first time, like it’s the last time, like they can’t survive without it. They kiss putting all their emotions into it, love and safety, frustration and curiosity. Anticipation and arousal. Warmth and trust.

They both feel Cora coming into the kitchen, but they don’t stop. They both feel Laura and Isaac coming in the house, but they don’t stop kissing.

‘What’s going on?’, Laura asks after a few seconds of staring at them.

Cora grins. ‘I woke up to my big brother proposing to my best friend.’

‘Proposing what?’, Isaac asks slowly, after a beat.

‘Marriage’, Cora laughs.

Isaac and Laura both let out high pitch noises, and Stiles has to pull back so he can laugh. Derek’s laughing too. Next thing he knows, Laura’s hugging him and Isaac is squeezing his shoulder with a big smile on his face. He grins in his Alpha’s hair and winks at her boyfriend.

After he’s released from the embrace, he turns around and sees that Cora is practically in Derek’s lap, kissing his cheeks over and over again.

Laura starts laughing, pointing a finger at Stiles. ‘Scott’s gonna kill you!’

‘Why?’, Stiles raises an eyebrow.             

‘Cause we found out before he did!’

Stiles’ smiles fails. ‘Oh shit.’

⃝

Stiles wakes up with a gasp. His heart is racing and he can feel it in his throat. He pulls at the covers he tangled himself in and stares at the ceiling, counting his breaths.

‘That wasn’t just a dream’, he says out loud, hoping it will make more sense if he hears it. ‘That was real, that’s going to be real.’

Before he realizes what he’s doing, he’s outside in his car, driving towards the Hale house. He gets there in record time, but his heart is still hectic, he’s still panting. He looks down and sees he’s wearing Batman pajama pants and one of Derek’s old t-shirts. He doesn’t care.

As soon as he gets out of his car, Derek is outside, on the porch, and he’s pale and sweating, and he’s panting too. His eyes look desperate and he seems afraid. Derek looks like Stiles feels.

They move towards each other, but stop when there are a few steps between them.

Stiles is crying, but he doesn’t care. He can’t take his eyes off Derek. He can’t move, he can’t say anything, he can’t breathe properly.

They stand like that for a few minutes, just looking at each other. Stiles is the one to catch his breath first.

‘I had a dream’, he says, eyes not leaving Derek’s.

‘Me too.’, Derek’s voice sounds so rough, Stiles has never heard  him like this. It scares him.

‘What?’

‘I had a dream too.’

‘About what?’

Derek shakes his head and Stiles can see that he’s crying too. And he knows, Stiles knows deep in his gut that they’ve dreamt the same thing. He’s shaking and he’s scared. He doesn’t know what he’s scared of. Rejection? Acknowledgment? Everything.

‘What did you dream about?’, he tries again, and his voice sounds sick, broken.

Derek looks up and lets out a shaking breath. ‘It wasn’t a dream.’

Stiles closes his eyes. ‘What do you mean?’

‘It felt real. Like… like it’s going to be real.’

‘I know’, Stiles says, absently, head left back, staring at the sky. There are clouds forming above them. ‘What did you dream about?’

‘Us’, Derek laughs. It sounds broken.

‘Was it that bad?’, Stiles tries to joke. It doesn’t come out right.

‘No. God no. It was…’ Derek slowly lets himself to the floor, and gets on his knees, standing on his heels. ‘It was good’, he laughs. ‘So good. It can’t be real.’

‘Why?’

Derek shakes his head and licks his lips. ‘Too good to be true.’

They look at each other again. Stiles can’t seem to find his words.

After a few blinks, Derek nods. ‘What about you?’

‘What about me?’

‘What did you dream about?’

‘Us.’, Stiles closes his eyes.

‘What about us?’

‘Perfect.’, is all he manages to say.

After a beat, Derek asks, and it sounds so lonely and sad, it break’s Stiles’ heart. ‘Too good to be true?’

‘Yeah.’

After a few more seconds, Stiles opens his eyes. Derek’s is looking straight as his chest. He’s counting Stiles’ heartbeats, like he always does when he needs to calm down. Stiles hangs onto that.

‘Too good to be real?’, Derek whispers.

Stiles shakes his head. ‘It hurts cause it could be real.’

They’re both crying, Derek is still on the ground, Stiles is shaking. They can’t move and this conversation feels impossible. Stiles feels like he’s going insane. It’s stupid, he knows, it’s not the first time he dreamt something impossible. But those came true, somehow. He doesn’t think this one can. And sharing a dream with Derek shouldn’t surprise him, if werewolves are real, anything could be. But Stiles feels like he’s going to break, like he’s going to lose Derek and everything will fall apart around him.

He’s scared, he’s terrified. He’s shaking and his heart has been beating too fast for what seems like hours. But he can’t move, he can’t do anything. Stiles feels useless again.

‘More than…’, Derek whispers and Stiles looks into his eyes. Derek nods and bites his lip.

‘More than Star Wars?’

Stiles blinks. He lets out a sob, and it surprises him.

‘More than the new Star Wars.’

Derek closes his eyes for a few seconds, but when he opens them and looks at Stiles, there’s no more pain between the two of them. No anxiety, no confusion, no questions. The air feels lighter and Stiles can feel Derek’s hope through the bond. He can feel his love for Derek, and he can feel Derek’s love for him.

‘This is impossible.’, Stiles says, louder than he should.

‘It’s been impossible since the first moment I fucking saw you.’, Derek says, and it sounds like a plead.

Stiles smiles and bites his lip. He’s not afraid anymore. He quickly takes the few steps towards Derek, and kneels in front of him.

His lips are on Derek’s before his knees hit the ground. Stiles stops breathing and Derek does the same. He feels Derek’s heartbeat under his fingers, where his hands are curled in the wolf’s t-shirt. It matches his, frantic and loud, so loud.

One of Derek’s hand is on his lower back, and when the other makes his way in Stiles’ hair, he starts breathing again. He pulls Derek closer and he moves his lips against his. They’re both crying, and Stiles is in his pajama and his brain cannot work enough for him to realize that this is happening.

It starts raining. Stiles thinks he might be the one doing it, but he can’t be sure, because Derek runs a finger along his jaw and he can’t think of anything. All he can do is kiss Derek, kiss Derek back, make him understand he means it, how much it means.

And Derek gets it, of course he gets it. He’s holding Stiles tight, like he doesn’t want to let him go, his heart is still beating fast under Stiles’ finger. A minute ago, they were both crying and panting. Now, they’re kissing softly, kneeling on the ground, keeping each other close, in the middle of a summer rain.

When they break apart, Stiles can’t open his eyes, not yet. He curls his hands around Derek’s neck and presses his nose against Derek’s pulse point. The wolf holds him tighter.

They stay like that for a while, Stiles can’t really say how much time passes till Derek whispers in a soft tone.

‘It’s raining.’

‘I think I’m doing that.’

Derek chuckles. ‘Make it stop.’

‘Okay.’, Stiles kisses Derek again, just a quick peck, and the rain instantly stops.

They’re both smiling, and Stiles couldn’t really stop even if he tried. Derek gets up and lifts Stiles up as well. As they walk towards the house, they don’t let go of each other’s hand.

When they get in, Derek’s sisters are standing in the middle of the living room, clearly they haven’t woken up a long time ago, judging by the state of their clothes and hair.

They’re both staring at them, and it’s understandable, considering Stiles and Derek are soaking wet, with mud on their knees, holding hands, faces flushed and smiling like they’re insane.

‘What the fuck just happened?’, Cora asks.

Derek and Stiles look at each other for a beat. Then, they start laughing.

‘What the fuck just happened?’, Cora turns and asks Laura.

‘I’m not sure’, the Alpha frowns. ‘But I’m sure I would have wanted pictures of it.’

Derek squeezes Stiles’ hand. ‘Shower?’, he asks, lifting an eyebrow.

Stiles stops laughing and raises both his eyebrows. ‘Shower?’, he whimpers.

‘Yes.’, Derek nods, leaving no room for discussion. ‘You’re soaking wet, you might catch a cold.’

‘Oh.’

Derek smirks. ‘It might relax us a bit too.’

Stiles blushes, but he practically drags Derek up the stairs towards his bathroom, ignoring Cora’s giggles, and Laura’s distress noises.

⃝

From that point on, Stiles’ life fallows a normal path. He dates Derek, and they make each other happy. Even though they fight, and it’s always way too strong and way too hurtful, they compensate by making sure their sex is always way too loud and way to energetic.

Stiles still teaches English at Beacon Hills High School, and it looks like he’ll be here till he retires. He’s happy with it, the kids keep liking him, Harris keeps hating him, and he sometimes goes out for beer with Coach. He starts writing again, series of books, werewolf centered action thrillers. They’re not like _Teen Wolf_ , he doesn’t dream anything, they’re just his imagination, and the readers love them. And, well, if some of the stories are inspired by real-life events, nobody but their pack has to know.

Because there are _events_. Every once in a while, something dangerous will pass by Beacon Hills and will try to take down the Hale pack. None of them succeeded. There’s been blood and broken bones, scratches, burns, kidnappings, torture, anything you can think of, they’ve been there. They’ve defeated other packs of wolves, covens of witches, vampires, trolls, wendigos, even a dragon. Now, every supernatural creature around knows that Beacon Hills is protected by the Hale pack, by its werewolves and its human and its witch. Things have calmed down, because all the Big Bads seem to be afraid of the Hales. Rightly so.

Stiles still has dinner with his father every week. But now, Derek joins them most of the times.

One year before Cora’s graduation, Stiles sold his apartment and moved in with Derek, in his big bedroom in the Hale house. It worked for a while, it was good, but when Cora went off to college, even if she was only one hour away from Beacon Hills, she decided to dorm. When she leaves, Stiles starts writing again. So, when Isaac moved in with Laura, in her bedroom, Stiles and Derek made the impulsive decision of buying a house. It’s just at the end of the city, near the Preserve, it had 4 bedrooms and a set of swings in the garden.

Derek and Stiles were together at Lydia and Jackson’s wedding. And at Cora’s graduation, and when Allison and Scott had their first baby. They were together when Isaac proposed to Laura and when Stiles’ father retired. They were together when Stiles became an author with world-wide best-seller books, and when he went on a world tour.

But, as life would have it, Stiles was wrong. His dream, his premonition, the one that pushed them towards each other, was wrong. Derek didn’t propose in the kitchen of the Hale house. Stiles did, on the roof of their house, one morning after they watched the sunset together. Months later, when they got married, they melted their mother’s old wedding rings and made new rings out of them, who fitted them perfectly. Nobody knew Stiles got them both engraved on the inside, ‘ _find your way by moonlight_ ’ written in both of them. Well, nobody except Derek knew. 

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't beta'd, so please, feel free to tell me any mistake I've made.


End file.
